Mike Bibby's best shot of the entire first round of the playoffs came before halftime of Sunday in Game 7 and it had nothing to do with his 3-point stroke.
Hawks coach Mike Woodson roasted him for passing the ball to Smith in the corner on in the final seconds. As Smith’s 24-footer bounced off the rim with 10.9 seconds left, Woodson jumped Bibby’s case for making the pass.
The surprise was Bibby’s response. He jumped Woodson right back, much to the delight of those of us sitting close enough to hear the entire exchange.
“If you don’t want me to throw to him put him somewhere else,” Bibby shouted. “He’s wide [@*&$%] open. Wide open. What do you want me to do? If you don’t want him shooting that then put him somewhere else. You tell him.”
Monday, May 04, 2009
Quote of the Last Five Years
From Sekou Smith's new blog post, hot off the digital press:
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11 comments:
incredible. it actually makes me feel better about life in general.
Can Bibby be a Player-Coach in his next contract?
Haha. So, Josh is there by design of our genius head coach????? Now don't you guys think you owe Josh an apology? He's just doing what his coach instructs him to do.
CoCo--
I have always acknowledged that the blame for the jump shots is not Josh's alone but partially due to the design of the offense.
I may not always write that out every time because I don't think posting a few times a year that Josh Smith should have been locked in a gym to practice his post moves four years ago adds much at this point no matter how true it remains.
I think the Game 6 commentary from Jeff Van Gundy (a guy I think might be a great fit for this team, if he'd let them run on the offensive end) highlights my concerns for J Smoove going forward.
When he's on, he's one of the five best players in the league, when he's not, he's atrociously bad, and it all stems from that carnival he calls a brain.
He's been in the league five years, I know folks point to the "He's only 23" line, but he's been a pro for five years.
The way he acts is inexcusable for any five year veteran, as Van Gundy repeatedly mentioned during Game 6.
I think what we've got from Josh now is likely what we're going to see forever. I haven't seen him improve one aspect of his game in the last three years. He's still got a horrible handle in the post, has no go-to move or counter-move, and believes he's the second coming of Magic Johnson on the fast break.
He's maddening.
I'm less bullish on Josh's chances of fulfilling his talents than I was at this time last year but I do think that if he were to play for a different coach that could better communicate with him and/or he played at a faster pace he could repress his more self-destructive basketball urges.
Honestly, I have no problem with Josh Smith shooting wide open jumpers. I do think those are the only jumpers he should be taking, though.
The biggest problem has been when he feels he should shoot contested jumpers, or try and create a shot more than 6 feet from the basket. The typical scenario is that he makes the wide open 3 pointer, then the next time down the court he wants to take a fadeaway from 30 feet.
His jump shooting has been absolutely abysmal this series, to the point that I'm pretty sure the Josh Smith Jump Shot Log would show ZERO made shots in at least the last few games.
I find Bibby's comment particularly interesting because I had a semblance of that conversation in my head when that shot took place. I mean, Bibby knows that Josh is going to shoot it when he makes that pass, but he CAN'T not pass it or else he risks losing Josh as a teammate.
Matt--
Smith made a three-pointer in Game 5 but missed all seven jump shots he took in Games 6 and 7. Thanks for reminding me to post the final shot selection breakdown.
Matt, all fair points.
But he's so wide open on the wing (much like Mario West basically anywhere on the floor at all times) for a reason.
Teams read scouting reports. They know that guarding him 25 feet from the basket can lead to a far worse outcome than letting him heave up jumpers all night. I'm sure teams actively make sure to leave him open on the perimeter, just to bait him into those shots.
Anytime he's got about 10 feet of open space between him and the defender on the perimeter, he should be trying to get up a head of steam and beat the guy off the bounce, not chucking up another brick.
Jrauch, I hear ya but Josh dribbles so horribly that he would end up turning the ball over about 5 feet into trying to build up that head of steam.
Duly noted.
But I think he'd have an easier time improving his handle than improving his jumper.
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