Atlanta Hawks: On Magic Tricks and Josh’s Jumpers
Nice write-up by Ken S. today on the Hawks’ issues stopping Dwight Howard and the Magic. Also a compelling counterpoint at Hoopinion (thanks to commenter GMAN013 for pointing it out) stating that the Hawks’ problems against the Magic have “less to do with defensive game plans than Atlanta’s complete and utter inability to score against the Magic.”
Josh Smith shooting from where he's most effective. (Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com)
But instead of adding my two cents to those takes, I’m going back to something I wrote about on Monday and have been trying to get my head around since. Why does Smoove continue to take jump shots when he’s only making them at a 37 percent clip at 28.3 effective field-goal percentage? Emailer Aaron, citing Hoopdata.com, broke it down even further: “Josh Smith is shooting 28.5% (28% after the Bucks game) on jumpshots in the 16-23 feet range. His career 3 pt% is 26.6%, meaning the decision to take long 2pt jumpshots over 3pt shots has cost the Hawks 21 points this season.”
Clearly Josh is just not good at shooting jumpers. Apparently everyone but Josh can see that he should stop taking them. How can he say he doesn’t notice when fans groan as soon as he catches the ball on the perimeter and looks at the basket. Heck, they dang near yell at him when he starts his windup. Why would he think “it will get better” when it’s not? How can he say he takes jumpers because they are available when the reason they are available is because opponents want him to shoot them? They get a double bonus because he’s very likely to miss and he’s nowhere near the rim for the rebound.
Then again, how can I be asking all these questions about a guy who’s been the most consistent Hawks performer all season? (Though I noticed Al lately has overtaken Josh to lead the Hawks in both on-court, off-court influence and adjusted plus-minus.) Honestly, I felt kind of jerky asking Josh why he takes jumpers. It felt like nitpicking at what might be the only consistent, glaring negative in his game this season. But because it’s so glaring and consistent I had to find out his thinking on the subject but instead of clearing things up it only confused me more.
Woody doesn’t really harp on the issue when I ask him about it. At first Smoove said Woody tells him to drive to the basket “all the time” but then added he doesn’t get on him too much “because he knows I play hard at both ends.” And I understand that but it’s got to be hard watching plays like that 20-footer he missed when the Hawks trailed San Antonio 101-97 the other night. Are decisions like that going to cost the Hawks in close playoff games?
I don’t understand why Josh keeps shooting jumpers but maybe it’s as simple as the more everyone thinks he can’t the more he thinks he can.
“I’m a confident player,” he said. “I believe in myself, not what somebody else believes in me.”
At this point, the Hawks might just need to hope Josh watches film again this summer and decides on his own he needs to quit taking those long jump shots.
– Ken S. has the game tonight.
MC
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559 comments Add your comment
joshfan
March 24th, 2010
9:42 pm
Nice way to clinch.
drmaryb
March 24th, 2010
9:42 pm
CLINCHED!
Boston is Killing Denver.
Josh is the F#* king – Man! What now? Josh HATERS!
rob
March 24th, 2010
9:42 pm
nailbiters the last week and a half, Bucks getting blown out tonight. second game winner for smoove this year!
Hawks Fan In Jax
March 24th, 2010
9:43 pm
Still bad D to let Carter get that 3
Blast
March 24th, 2010
9:43 pm
Hawks have had some buzzer beaters, but this might be the best of the lot. Didn’t think they could beat Magic tonight, but they pulled it off. Hats out to them.
falcons pick spoon
March 24th, 2010
9:43 pm
josh came out of the roof! That’s the thing that could propel this team over any other: incredible athleticsm. Just a matter of staying consistent
Wes
March 24th, 2010
9:43 pm
JSmoove with a clutch jump shot down the stretch & dunk to send it home!!
I feel like the way the Hawks played down the stretch they would have lost in OT.
Elmore Spencer
March 24th, 2010
9:44 pm
Joe Johnson walked. Got away with it though
mountain_jim
March 24th, 2010
9:44 pm
What kind a shot was it? (not able to watch)
Hawks Fan In Jax
March 24th, 2010
9:44 pm
Man now we know we can beat em, gotta beat cavs and that turncoat Ilgauls(sp)
O'Brien
March 24th, 2010
9:45 pm
thats why josh does not need to be by the 3pt line. We need him crashing the boards. great play by Josh.
I’m glad this didnt go to OT, because with the way the refs were calling the game, we would have probably lost.
Melvin
March 24th, 2010
9:46 pm
Take that Daddy Mouse…
bigdave
March 24th, 2010
9:47 pm
wow… class act. Josh praising Joe even in his moment of glory…
joshfan
March 24th, 2010
9:47 pm
Josh Smith will go down as one of the great Hawks of all time. So will Horford. Give these guys a little respect. They had millions of dollars thrown at them at a very young age and considering that, they are very much together. I think this Hawk team is great for the NBA and great for Atlanta. They are young people who already know about giving back.
VenomSpitter
March 24th, 2010
9:47 pm
I agree O’Brien
bigdave
March 24th, 2010
9:47 pm
im sorry i dont see any of “Rasheed Wallace” in this guy.
Dont Do IT!
March 24th, 2010
9:49 pm
DEFENSE WON THAT GAME! ITS ALL ABOUT DEFENSE IN THE PAINT!
vava74
March 24th, 2010
9:49 pm
Josh’s play was amazing. One of the best buzzer beaters ever.
JJ was clearly fouled by Carter with the extended elbow and the refs swallowed the whistle.
The refs kept ORL in the game with horrible calls and non-call just like the first game in ATL and the game in CLE.
We have some glaring deficiencies but we don’t stand a chance with these refs… It’s simply not fair and honest competition.
bigdave
March 24th, 2010
9:50 pm
hard to Crash the boards O’brien when you’re standing 17 ft away from the basket cleared out for an iso…
BONE
March 24th, 2010
9:50 pm
YOOOOOOO, IM LEAVIN THE ARENA NOW, THIS PLACE IS GOIN NUUUUUUTZZZZ!!!!!!!!!! PPL DDONT WANNA LEAVE, WE ARE GOING HAM!!
rob
March 24th, 2010
9:52 pm
not alot of open 3’s for the magic in the game, hawks were attacking on defense for 48 minutes
Ben
March 24th, 2010
9:52 pm
Agreed O’brien. Great finish bu that was almost an epic bed wetting after being up over 10 with less than 6 to go. This team still needs to win consistently on the road.
Cannon
March 24th, 2010
9:54 pm
Man I love this team!!!! It’s just so awesome to watch them play. I got mad respect for Bibby. Even though he’s clearly lost a step and is spending a lot more time on the bench that he’s used to, he shows no signs of it disappointing him. He took it like a man, and to see the pure joy on his face celebrating with the team tells me we can do anything in the playoffs. This team is unified and has been playing that way recently.
Ree Roe
March 24th, 2010
9:54 pm
Very proud of this effort. After a lackluster start, we played with the kind of heart & passion you want to see every night from this team. Great finish Hawks & we have the recipe to beat them guys now. Great way to clinch
-REEal Roe!!!
Justin
March 24th, 2010
9:56 pm
For some reason boat racing was on instead of the game. Anybody know where you can see the replay of Josh’s dunk online?
drmaryb
March 24th, 2010
9:56 pm
HAWkS *ARE* sooooo. Special! Reminds me of the last PISTONS team that WON it ALL!
*ALL the negative Bloggers* please – Get on Board! Give JOE the assist on that SMooooooovvveee – Put Back!
These Hawks are a TEAM!
WOODY coached his AZZ – OFF – TONITE!
BIBBY won this Game for us tonight!
JOSH closed the DZeAL!
This WIN was a TOTAL TEAM EFFORT!
Cannon
March 24th, 2010
9:59 pm
@ Justin there should be vids of the dunk online shorty, I’ll post something when I see it. However I can almost guarantee it will be either the #1, or #2 play on sportscenter tonight.
GMAN013
March 24th, 2010
10:09 pm
Justin
http://www.nba.com/
then just go to the dunk
GMAN013
March 24th, 2010
10:15 pm
LOL Bibby didn’t mind touching Josh during the celebration. Hypocrite!!!
VenomSpitter
March 24th, 2010
10:22 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNpsgXrQwzQ Here it is on youtube but the quality isn’t that good
northcyde
March 24th, 2010
10:24 pm
I hope now you guys are seeing that this team is mentally tough. They could’ve easily rolled over and died in that 1st quarter ( like a couple of fans on this board were doing ). But they stayed focus, and was able to keep themselves in position to win the game.
Mental toughness.
As for Smoove . . lol . . that’s the Shawn Kemp version of Smoove that I love to see. If that’s not the #1 play on SportsCenter, they should just quit doing the top 10.
5 playoff-like intensity games in a row, all coming down to the final play. This is the Hawks version of March Madness.
Now next week is the big challenge. Can we take a game from the East and West favorites to play for the NBA title.
Somebody needs to hurry up and youtube the final play, starting with Carter’s 3 ( which shows why the Magic got him ), so I can watch Smoove Kemp jam it home about 15 times in a row.
VenomSpitter
March 24th, 2010
10:24 pm
The best part is Marvin has his hands up after Josh is being mobbed like “Yes everybody hug me” but they all go to Josh LMAO
KevinA
March 24th, 2010
10:25 pm
I want Bibby to play less. But the idea he can still be productive and be a team player is so important. Our blog is much more negitive than the team is. I still think JJ and Jamal shoot to much, along with Woody being a little slow on adjustments, but overall we are playing much better team ball and have developed more options. We have many great Hawks ball seasons ahead of us. Could not be much more fun.
KevinA
March 24th, 2010
10:32 pm
VenomSpitter,
you are a strange dude
SWAT Native
March 24th, 2010
10:42 pm
VenomSpitter
March 24th, 2010
1:47 pm
Who actually thinks beat the Magic 2nite. I mean seriously.
SWAT Native
March 24th, 2010
1:59 pm
Venom Spitter,
I think the Hawks finally beat the Magic tonight – and I’ll be at the game trying to help them. They’re overdue just like they were overdue to beat the Spurs.
Like Danny Ainge would say, “man, I told you we would beat those freaks!”
drmaryb
March 24th, 2010
10:46 pm
Billy Knight
Built this TEAM!
Mr. Sund added ALL the finishes.
I just wanna give B.K. A SHOUiT-OUT!
WOODY is a WONDERFUL COACH! He has developed the TALENT & has not LOST the TEAM!
WOODY deserves a 5 year extension!
STABILITY is needed in this TOWN. The OWNERS are STILL in COURT… No changes until Ownership is settled is a MUST!
WOODY didn’t buy the groceries! He never had a PG till BIBBY showed up..
Thank – Billy for Bibby!
Big Ray
March 24th, 2010
10:50 pm
I think I’ve finally calmed down enough to type on the keyboard…..whewwwww! What a win! What a play at the end by Josh!
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 24th, 2010
10:51 pm
venom, that vid quality is way better than the crap some other people have already posted lol.
Big Ray
March 24th, 2010
10:52 pm
How about J-J-J-J-JOOOOEEEE with the clutch free throws?!
David
March 24th, 2010
11:01 pm
Funny to see the Hawks still struggling to keep up with the old, broken down Celtics.
drmaryb
March 24th, 2010
11:03 pm
The Hawks are Long & Athletic!
Great Defense tonite from Start to Finish!
Hey WOODY ,,. Great Rotations & Great Coaching the Entire Game Tonight,
You earned a Game Ball & A 5 Year Extension tonite!
You can only COACH the TALENT … You were GIVEN! You Fathered these Kids & Helped turn them into Men!
You & Mr. Johnson did that together!
Joe please Re-Sign…We Love You & NEED you to Win that Ring!
Drmaryb … A real FAN since 1986!
Clyde
March 24th, 2010
11:06 pm
LOL @drmaryb
FIRE WOODY
David
March 24th, 2010
11:09 pm
If Woody were a real coach, the Hawks–with the personnel they have, would be challenging Cleveland for the top spot in the East.
JeJe
March 24th, 2010
11:10 pm
IF WOODSON IS A GOOD DEFENSIVE-ORIENTED COACH, WHY CAN HE NOT DEVISE A DEFENSIVE PLAN FOR DOUBLE TEAMING THE OTHER TEAM’S STAR?
The Bird and Indian (Reggie)
March 24th, 2010
11:10 pm
Shame on you who doubted the Hawks. I’m amazed at the constant negativity of this blog, even though we have a 50 win team here. Get off Of Joe Johnson’s ****. He is struggling to get back in his groove right now but we all know that he carries this team every night. Wait until the playoffs, it’s his year. Bank on it.
JeJe
March 24th, 2010
11:10 pm
Smoove will be the best player on this team next year, regardless of if Joe is here or not. Once the guy stops taking jumpshots, improves FTs, and fixes up his post moves a little, he will be a top 10 player in this league
JeJe
March 24th, 2010
11:11 pm
FIRE MIKE WOODSON
David
March 24th, 2010
11:14 pm
Smoove will never be a top 10 player in the NBA.
KevinA
March 24th, 2010
11:15 pm
JeJe ,
While ZaZa got caught up on fouls, Howard missed many of them. Howard also missed a few shots going with ZaZa one on one with Howard. I believe we won that battle. Gundy did not push Howard enough. Our coach wins this battle.
KevinA
March 24th, 2010
11:16 pm
It was guard turn over that let the Magic bk into this one.