Atlanta Hawks: “Slight” chance you’ll see Pape Sy
Pape Sy might join the Hawks.
Back when the Hawks drafted Pape Sy and brought him to Summer League, assistant GM Dave Pendergraft said there was “no chance” the team would buy out Sy’s contract with Le Havre of the top French League. Over the weekend Pendergraft upgraded that to a “slight chance” Sy will join the Hawks this fall.
Pendergraft didn’t elaborate on Atlanta’s reasoning for the change of heart. But considering how the Hawks praised Sy’s competitiveness and physical tools in camp, I’m assuming they see him as a guy who could eventually help as a wing defender. Plus Sy, who has one year left on his French deal, would come cheaply as a second-round pick.
Heck, if the Hawks bring in Sy and then add a center prospect it could be the beginnings of a bona fide player development program. I think the Utah Flash would be flabbergasted if a Hawks guy showed up.
– It seems Al’s comments about playing power forward caused a frenzy among my blog people. Actually, it seems any news that potentially means Marvin goes to the bench gets people excited.
But as far as I can tell Al’s comments reflect what I wrote last week: LD plans to use a “big” rotation that includes Twin and also will use Al and Zaza together. It doesn’t mean a change in the starting lineup but rather more combinations of bigs and a deeper rotation.
I can’t see how shifting Smoove to small forward would ever be a good move. I know he played the 3 as a rookie but when I talked to him about that he didn’t seem too enthusiastic about going back. Why take a guy whose forte is defending the paint away from the glass? Wasn’t that one major weakness of the switching D?
And do you really think Al would be a better power forward than Smoove, or at least so much better that it’s worth it to stick Josh out on the perimeter guarding the best athletes in the league? At the very least, don’t you want to see how Marvin looks under LD before such a drastic and potentially counterproductive move is made?
– Please be patient as we try to eradicate the blog troll . There are some technological things being worked on above my pay grade that should help with the self-policing. In the meantime, we will erase messages and ban posters as soon as we can after we are notified. You can help us out by flagging inappropriate comments and refraining from feeding the troll.
MC
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202 comments Add your comment
The Truth
August 10th, 2010
2:02 am
Correction: They sign him to a 2-yr min contract since he is not a vet yet
albert edwards
August 10th, 2010
2:10 am
Look here guys it is time for marvin williams to sit down. the hawks should have never drafted him, and then pay him more money. He is just okay and not worth what they are paying him. Josh Smith needs to step it up and learn how to play the three what he is and develop a jump shot and dribble. If D. Wilkins can do it, josh can too. thats all he needs to be one of the best sf in the game. We all know he can defend. and back to marvin (trade). we should have kept childress.
Grandad
August 10th, 2010
2:10 am
SteveW
If that was really you?
-And-
If you’re talkin’ about me?
C’mon, get your facts straight.
You twist everything a person says.
(1) Your original statement:
Josh does not have the skill to play the [3].
I have in this whole melee attempted to counter
that “one statement”.
(2) If a player will defend Josh a certain way
on the floor, it don’t matter if you call him a
[3], a [4], a [7], a small forward, a shortstop,
a hockey puck or a republican.
(3) I do *not* endorse moving Josh anywhere just for
the sake of moving him. I do *not* want Josh & Marv
to switch pos while both continue to start.
However, If LD sees fit to play Zaza & Cheeseburger
Big minutes, *Then* I want both Josh & Al on the
floor together. With proper *Coaching* & [motion off]
*these following items can be accomplished:
* floor spacing
* floor balance
* getting Josh open [in his spots](where he needs to shoot)
* creating match-ups / both on off. & def.
* making adjustments
(4) Do we need a stretch [4,5]?
Yes.
(5) Would any of you bench either Josh or Al if we had
Bargnani?
No.
(6) Is he available?
I wish.
(7) Who is?
Troy Murphy
(8) Has SteveW manipulated my words?
Yes.
(9) Do positions matter in motion offense?
To a certain extent.
A point guard is necessary.
A *TRUE [5] is really, really handy*.
*[see Pau Gasol]
But even those positions can be overcome with
certain personel.
86 Celtics didn’t have a true point guard.
[Danny Ainge + Dennis Johnson]
both just played guard.
Pau Gasol could run motion off with no problem.
Jordan & the Bulls never had a true point.
These are just examples.
(10) In LD’s offense will Josh, Al, & Marv be
interchangeable?
To a certain extent – yes (and Joe as well)
I’m most excited about Joe posting or catching
the ball in the paint w/o having to pound the
ball for 20 seconds. Just catch & Shoot.
(11) Will catch & Shoot be a blessing?
Yes.
(12) Who for?
In order:
Marv, Josh, Joe, Al, Zaza, & everyone else
not named Teaguer or Jamal.
~~~> Finally – for AJ
I agree about the 3 guard line-up.
Rebounding would be a problem.
I made a fundamental mistake and did
not qualify that would be our best
offensive line-up.
I do appreciate the civil manner in which you
brought the facts to my attn.
Thanks.
*SteveW – Talk X’s & O’s but I’m tired of discussing Josh.
MR. LEE
August 10th, 2010
2:17 am
starting lineup of jeff teague, joe johnson, josh smith, al horford, zaza pachulia. then bring in jamal crawford for josh or zaza and rotate linelup. then give the rest and bring in a second team.
Grandad
August 10th, 2010
2:24 am
SteveW
I read your 12:54 AM again.
You sir, are a smart ass.
I don’t tolerate rude behavior.
northcyde
August 10th, 2010
3:06 am
LOL @ SteveW. It’s not like people can’t watch Dr. J play. That’s the beauty of youtube. You can watch entire games on Youtube. Especially most of the memorable playoff games. I love getting on here and watching some of these old games.
Game 6: 1982 – Sixers vs Lakers
As athletic as Smoove is, keep your eye on Julius. THIS is a small forward.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7oZNwh6lPg
northcyde
August 10th, 2010
3:21 am
Matter of fact, start with that clip, and watch the remaining clips of that game in the 2nd half. That was a GREAT game, and intense as hell.
MR. LEE
August 10th, 2010
3:47 am
the hawks need to develop a pic n roll play, the starting five is just the starting five guys. go back to the old hawks of mike fratello when he rotated his bench into the games. most of the time he started the second quarter with a whole new lineup. zaza can play the center position, give different looks and change it up. utilize everybody, run the fast breaks, zone defense on teams you dont match up with like orlando, and when youre forced into half court offense keep the ball moving, pick n roll, and low post. it is time to get these players to play there rolls in order to have success
salinsa
August 10th, 2010
7:04 am
The problem with playing Josh at the 3 is he can’t shoot and he can’t dribble very well. If a perimeter oriented player isn’t a good shooter then you better be able to dribble well enough to get by a defender to get to the hole. If a SF can do neither, then his team is basically playing 4 on 5. We all know Josh isn’t a good dribbler. How many times has Josh gotten a rebound and began dribbling upcourt and your first reaction is, “Give up the ball!” And that’s in the open court. He can barely dribble in the open court let alone in a half court situation where the space is so limited.
The remaining issue is, although Josh’s skills aren’t ideal for a SF, is he a better 3 than Marvin? Skill wise, I say no. I’m as frustrated with Marvin as anyone else. I’ve always felt that offering Marvin that extension wasn’t very smart. At that point, I felt like we could get some good value for him in a trade b/c I’m sure other teams still felt good about his potential. I highly doubt that is still the case.
Having said that, skillwise, Marvin is a better SF than Josh. Josh can’t shoot and Marvin’s best offensive skill is his ability to hit a mid range jumpshot and even take it out to the 3 pt shot. As far as dribbling goes, Marvin has a much tighter handle than Josh. At no point when Marvin is dribbling do I expect for him to turn it over or getting stripped like I do with Josh. The major concern with Marvin is effort. Marvin seems like he just doesn’t care which is the complete opposite to Josh who tends to get too emotional at times. But from a skills standpoint, for better or worse, Marvin is the better offensive option at the 3. Defensively, I don’t feel like there’s a big difference between the two and in some respects, I’d favor Josh b/c of his athleticism and effort
Laurent
August 10th, 2010
7:10 am
@MsDee
For french basketball fans, it has been a surprise even for us when Atlanta drafted Sy. He’s not a big contributor in our league and seems (even for us) to be raw. But he has a big potential for sure. And some people here think Sy would fit much more to the NBA than to a european team. That’s maybe the reason why the Hawks want him now, in order to develop him more easily, maybe in NBDL (even if this league is not well considered competition in France, for us it’s better to learn on the bench of a NBA team than be “buried” in the rotation of an NBDL team !).
Now Larry Drew have seen this potential and has maybe some good stories in his head (Batum, Beaubois,…). From my point of view, Atlanta doesn’t risk a lot playing poker with Sy, I think it’s much less risky than paying just 1 guy 120 M$ over 6 years…
O'Brien
August 10th, 2010
7:42 am
northcyde,
What about a Teague (or Bibby)/Mo/JJ/Josh/Al starting lineup? That way you get to bring Jamal off the bench as the scorer, and Marvin also goes to the bench?
For what its worth, I think Mo Evans does a decent job guarding SGs, and with more consistent minutes, I think he would play better.
As for Sy, sure the guy has potential. But I would have preferred to see the Hawks spend some money and offer Matt Barnes (a legit backup SF who can play defense)a contract.
But as is usually the case with the ASG, a lot of our discussions are spent on who they did NOT get…
Fundamentals
August 10th, 2010
7:52 am
I like it? But does Joe? Alot of folks complain Joe can’t play SF. I think he could and I think it’d #1 help Marvin by helping him become a feature in a now greatly enhanced 2nd team and it’ll help Mo cause he’ll finally give effort where it’s going to match up. He’s just too small to compete at SF, thus all the fouls. When he’s counted on to replace Joe at SG he usually goes off for big #’s. Why not try it a few nights?
LEA
August 10th, 2010
8:25 am
What you so called experts don’t understand is, you DO NOT have to be a great 3 pt shooter to start at SF.. I don’t know where y’all got that from. Smoove is 10 times better than Marvin in every area, You know Marvin can’t shoot either so. Also it’s just funny how everyone on here seems to think they are experts, because they are fans and have watched hundreds of games. Newsflash none of you are. Just stating your opinions, not facts..
terrell
August 10th, 2010
8:56 am
Jason, Marvin and Mo to Milwaukee for Jerry Stackhouse? You cant be serious. Some of you guys make Rick Sund look like Jerry West.
Fundamentals
August 10th, 2010
8:56 am
LEA – some folks won’t be happy until Marvin is gone and we have someone better than Dwight at center. Will it happen? You can give your humble opinion. I see no problem in going big for some match-ups. Does it matter if Josh can’t shoot 3’s or even 2’s from farther than 12 feet? Not really. Does it matter that he’s awkward dribbling to the bucket? Not really. It all comes down to effective play calling and movement by the PG under the direction of LD. The ISO game left us so stagnant and easy to guard. It left Horford and Josh frustrated where they let down on D. It let defenses tear Joe and Jamal apart. We need change. All this banter is an outlet of “experts” voicing their opinion. By this time in the summer with nothing going on folks are gonna sound crazy. Just let them banter. It all comes down to LD’s decision and how his players respond. What I take from all this is:
There’s enough banter to justify Josh can play both positions adequately
Marvin has no niche, LD must help him find one or find him a home
Josh and Al still want help on the block and would appreciate a stronger perimeter defense. Will ASG make a trade?
Collins must come in ready
Sy is our first Manu or Parker type pick in our dreams at night. Hopefully it’ll become reality on the court and not just in the blog.
This team can win if they maximize their potential, fans are tired of waiting or at the least restless and demanding excellence.
Take all this as IMHO.
WW
August 10th, 2010
9:03 am
Yes, I’m anxious to see how Marvin does under LD and a motion offense!!!! He does better when he’s moving instead of standing in the corner watching JJ do the ISO!!!!! The guys still young, and he’s got tons of athletic ability that’s untapped!!!!
Fundamentals
August 10th, 2010
9:17 am
WW – I agree. Kid just hasn’t gotten a chance to show his skills. Many would argue, but he’s lost out there waiting for his chance after the other 4 are done. How can you really get in the flow of the game when randomly put on the spot?
terrell
August 10th, 2010
9:17 am
This is the lineup that I’d go with:
Starters: Teague/Jamal/Joe/Josh/Al
6th man of the year: Marvin
Bench: Bibby//Jo Craw/Evans/Sy/Powell//Collins/Etan Thomas(FA)
Fundamentals
August 10th, 2010
9:18 am
Maybe LD will actually ride a player when they get hot. Woodson always tended to sit guys or go away from them once they actually got going. Never made sense.
MsDee
August 10th, 2010
9:31 am
@Laurent,
Thx for the reply..I hope Sy can come in and perform..I saw a little swag about him during the Summer League b4 he got hurt. Would like to see more of that during the pre-season games!
Westurd
August 10th, 2010
9:54 am
Can we get a sound off……..
When you look at this team, do you see the glass half full or half empty?
Half Empty for me.
Fundamentals
August 10th, 2010
9:57 am
Almost full. If we could add two impact players…even for the minimum I like our chances. We need a good perimeter defender (Sy) and a big who can hold the middle and help with Dwight (?).
KevinM
August 10th, 2010
10:06 am
You know what Terrell, that one move to put Marvin on the bench might make this a better team for LD to work with.
Marvin is limited in so many ways and I can’t understand why. He came into the league as the most athletic player in that draft. What have we seen: a jump shooter who did develop a 3 pt shot, but has only looked good doing it comfortably for one year. My main concern: at this point in his career, how can he be ranked the 30th most efficient SF?
I don’t think Marvin likes contact and doesn’t attack the rim. What is he doing in his summers at Chapel Hill? Throwing up a bunch of jumpers IMO and not attacking said rim.
My concern with this roster is who guards who on the Heat? I don’t see a good matchup on the perimeter. You move E#2 to the 3, and you have JC1 and Teague to try and stop DWade, and leaves E#2 to stop LeBron….bad scenario.
We are going to need a good zone.
Say no to Smoove at the 3….simple decision. Our problem is we have 2 PFs playing the backline and won’t stop the elite teams with 2 PFs. Zaza and Collins are not enough.
I also don’t see why Powell would sign here; where does he see himself getting minutes? How about JC2? What kind of clock can he get if LD doesnt’ move E#2 to the 3?
Point is, easy to justify bringing Marvin off the bench. Easy to put Teague at the point. He however is the key to the success of this team.
Not easy to see a frontline of Smoove/Al/Zaza/….we aren’t getting alot done with that lineup.
samthecenter
August 10th, 2010
10:19 am
Where is this legit center? There are only three or four centers in the league with better statistics than Al. As for this 2 or 3 non-sense, this is basketball. These players are skilled enough to play any position. What is Lebron a 1 or 2 or 3? Same with Kobe. Garnett a 2 or 3 . It’s about how you are coached.
O'Brien
August 10th, 2010
10:25 am
KevinM,
It’s all about matchups, so you’re right. But the Heat are not that strong at PG and Center, and I think Josh will do a decent job on Bosh. Wade and JJ will be close, so I think it comes down to LeBron and Marvin.
Thats one reason I was pushing for the signing of Matt Barnes, because him and Marvin would have been a very good tag team at SF.
Fundamanetals,
Woody was not flexible enough with his rotations, substitutions and defensive strategy. So if there is anything LD learned from Woody, it should be some things NOT to do.
Salvador Gonzalez
August 10th, 2010
10:26 am
I understand that Al Horford can be very effective playing at center against certain teams.
I remember Phil Jackson playing Toni Kukoc at center in several situatrions but he had that flexibility.
When playing aganst teams with dominat centers he had “The 3 headed Monster”(Bill Wennington7´,
Luc Longley 7¨2″ and Will Purdue 7¨).
That is the big problem with The Hawks, not having enough size to play against the dominat centers.
JeJe
August 10th, 2010
10:31 am
Horford said we did not do well in playoffs last year because we were very individualistic. Pretty much saying Woody’s offensive plan sucked and didn’t facilitate anything..
ILL-Logical
August 10th, 2010
10:51 am
Perhaps the “slight chance” that we will see Pape Sy is tied to the fact that his contract would be in the $500-600,000 range and not the $1million that Mario West would be eligible for as the 13th man. In fact, Pape is quite a bit less expensive than Mo,who clocks in at $2.5 million, and may not have enough playing time to justify that salary in the eyes of management.
KevinM
August 10th, 2010
11:45 am
I think Pape Sy has gotten enough press for one offseason. The only advantage I see having him here is to have someone JC2 can talk to on the bench and get used to life in the NBA.
If we are going to dress 13, Sy probably doesn’t have much of a chance to get Mario West 0:04 time at the end of halves.
We continue as a franchise to limit our options and not fulfill our needs.
Ask the entire league if we don’t need help in the post or depth at the lead position? There are 2 slots left for a 15 man roster.
And again, Marvin’s 30 SF ranking justifies his move to the bench if he doesn’t get off to a 12ppg/6rpg start. And yes, Marvin has to be the defender on LeBron.
For a team who is considered the 4th best in the East, it seems like we have so few options after the 1st option. Kinda sounds like Woody’s offense huh?
Najeh Davenpoop
August 10th, 2010
1:20 pm
“What you so called experts don’t understand is, you DO NOT have to be a great 3 pt shooter to start at SF”
No, but you have to be able to keep defenses honest with your outside jumper to the extent that they will contest it. Compared to other starting SFs in the league right now, Josh is not just a bad shooter; he is a TERRIBLE shooter. This goes beyond percentages and starts from his awkward, flat-footed form and slow release which other teams don’t bother contesting. If teams are sagging off of you when you shoot from a certain range, that means you either need to make them pay so they start contesting you or you need to stop playing that far from the basket.
Basically it boils down to this:
1. A guy really shouldn’t have the ball in his hands in a scoring position if he’s outside his shooting range; the area of the floor in which a guy should have the ball in a scoring position should be limited to the distance from which he can make shots consistently
2. Josh doesn’t have a consistent shot from any range, which limits the distance from the hoop at which he can be effective. With this being the case, regardless of his position it forces him to play close to the hoop. If he’s at SF, this means…
3. Either your PF or your C has to move away from the hoop to provide Josh room to operate.
As far as floor spacing is concerned, I think this can only work if the starting C reliably hits outside shots, like Ilgauskas or Yao. Zaza is not going to force defenses to guard his mid range jumpers either. None of this means Smoove can’t play SF at all, but on this team with this roster it’s not the best fit.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 10th, 2010
1:22 pm
“Perhaps the “slight chance” that we will see Pape Sy is tied to the fact that his contract would be in the $500-600,000 range”
You’re not taking into account his buyout, which would also be around $500,000. For a team that refuses to go over the luxury tax for Shaq and would rather pocket $3 million than pay $500,000 to the best player in the 2nd round, I have a hard time seeing the DASG paying a foreign team a buyout, as much as I’d like to see Sy here this season.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 10th, 2010
1:25 pm
“I also don’t see why Powell would sign here; where does he see himself getting minutes? ”
If he didn’t sign here, he’d be in the D-League. Powell and Collins should be thankful thag an NBA team is willing to pay them.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 10th, 2010
1:32 pm
“These players are skilled enough to play any position. What is Lebron a 1 or 2 or 3? Same with Kobe. Garnett a 2 or 3 . It’s about how you are coached.”
Actually, it’s about maximizing a guy’s talent. Yeah, if an NBA player played a pickup game with everyone on this blog, he could play whatever position he wanted and smoke all of us. But when you go up against other players of the same caliber, you have to play to your strengths. Smoove has proven he’s strongest near the basket. Pulling him away from the basket for any reason doesn’t make him ineffective, but it will make him less effective. The reason coaches like Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich achieve so much success is because they are able to put their players in position to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.
Rev in Tampa
August 10th, 2010
1:32 pm
@KevinM – “For a team who is considered the 4th best in the East, it seems like we have so few options after the 1st option. Kinda sounds like Woody’s offense huh?”
I have seen you on this blog consistently,so it heightens my surprise to see you make such an ill-informed statement. The Hawks are a very versatile team. Their athleticism and talent alone makes them a nightmare to defend. Even with a one-dimensional offense last year, the Hawks were near the top of the league offensively.
Drew has quite an arsnal of weapons to run at the other teams. The Hawks, as I stated last night on this blog, will be able run different offensive sets at a team without changing personnel because of their veratility.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 10th, 2010
1:35 pm
“Atlanta doesn’t risk a lot playing poker with Sy, I think it’s much less risky than paying just 1 guy 120 M$ over 6 years…”
Wow, now we got people rubbing it in from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
SteveW
August 10th, 2010
1:37 pm
Grandad – your quote “You twist everything a person says”
Everything is a big word – I doubt you really mean that
I’m not trying to be rude – remember when you said I called you an idiot – and then you admitted I didn’t.
Remember when you said I said Josh was the fastest PF- and then you admitted I didn’t say it
Remember when you said I said Josh would be the slowest SF – and then you admitted I didn’t say it
Remember when you said everybody stretches the truth on these forums to make a point, and plays a liitle bit? Man, I was just playing a little bit – said you seemed like a nice enough guy.
We have a disagreement here, probably not near as much as it seems, But I defintely am not trying to twist your words. God bless you man – and let’s get on with some other things – I like the x and o’s thing as well – I don’t like being called what I consider an explitive – and very sorry if you took my succint joke as rude. .
Rev in Tampa
August 10th, 2010
1:40 pm
‘Veratility’ = ‘versatility’
terrell
August 10th, 2010
1:42 pm
Kevin M, ever heard of a zone?
terrell
August 10th, 2010
1:44 pm
And Kevin M, we dont have to use the same starting 5 in every game. Woody’s gone, remember?
terrell
August 10th, 2010
1:47 pm
Funny how “Zaza and Collins are not enough”, but OLDneal, Boone, Elson, etc…, are the saviors at center. lol!
Rev in Tampa
August 10th, 2010
2:03 pm
@Terrel – “Funny how “Zaza and Collins are not enough”, but OLDneal, Boone, Elson, etc…, are the saviors at center. lol!”
Great Point!
Rev in Tampa
August 10th, 2010
2:09 pm
Terrel = Terrell
Sorry for misspelling your name.
northcyde
August 10th, 2010
2:16 pm
LEA
August 10th, 2010
8:25 am
What you so called experts don’t understand is, you DO NOT have to be a great 3 pt shooter to start at SF.. I don’t know where y’all got that from. Smoove is 10 times better than Marvin in every area, You know Marvin can’t shoot either so. Also it’s just funny how everyone on here seems to think they are experts, because they are fans and have watched hundreds of games. Newsflash none of you are. Just stating your opinions, not facts..
**********************
I’m kind of a confident fan in what I talk about though. I think some of the others on here are too. I don’t know about the others, but I’ve watched THOUSANDS of basketball games ( both pro and college ). I research stuff. And I have enough confidence in what I talk about, to place a $100 bet that I know more about the NBA than 75% of these writers/bloggers who never set foot on a basketball court. You can always tell who knows what they’re talking about, and who doesn’t.
That’s why people really need to give Michael Cunningham props on here. The dude not only knows what he’s talking about, he’ll take an extra effort to see if the actual numbers will back up what he is talking about. To me, he’s head and shoulders above what the legendary Sekou Smith was on here. And Sekou was good. But he’s not nearly as thorough as MC is.
That’s why MC just didn’t automatically drink the kool aid around here, and blame Mike Woodson for every little problem the Hawks had last year. He took time out to actually WATCH the team as a whole, from the coaches on down. While coaching may have been a problem, he sees the deficiencies that these players have too. And he’s proven that with actual numbers. The same goes with ISO-JOE. He actually took the time to see if it was as horrible as people said it was, or if ISO-JOE did have its merits.
And even though people keep talking about offense . . offense . . offense around here, he has time and again told the blog that the Hawks just didn’t give the type of effort on DEFENSE on a nightly basis. Not even in practice at times. And he is right on the money with that.
That man gets major props from me.
northcyde
August 10th, 2010
2:20 pm
As for Smoove playing SF, people just have to use the tools at their disposal, and start looking up this stuff for themselves. But here is just a quick illustration:
2009 – 10 eFG% on jumpshots . . for the main SF on each team, including what Josh Smith shoots on jumpers last year: ( from 82games.com )
. . . I’ll even post the career high eFG% numbers of both Marvin and Smoove, and add them into this list.
Morrow – 57.5% . . ( 9.9 ppg ) . . arguably the best catch and shoot guy in the league
M. Miller – 56.6% . . ( 6.4 ppg ) . . the reason why Miami picked him up
Q. Richardson – 54.5% . . ( 6.4 ppg )
Gallaniri – 50.5% . . ( 9.5 ppg )
Peja – 49.5% . . ( 9.4 ppg)
Gomes – 48.9% . . ( 7.7 ppg )
Pierce – 48.8% . . ( 8 ppg )
M. Webster – 48.4% . . ( 5.7ppg )
Delfino – 48.4% . . ( 7.3 ppg )
Turkoglu – 47.7% . . ( 6.6 ppg )
Barnes – 47% . . ( 3.5 ppg )
Artest – 46.9% . . ( 5.9 ppg )
R. Butler – 46.6% . . ( 8.6 ppg )
Granger – 46.5% . . ( 12.8 ppg )
Hill – 46.4% . . ( 5.5 ppg)
Durant – 45.2% . . ( 13.9 ppg )
M. Williams – 44.9% . . ( 6.1 ppg ) . . ( Career high: 2008 – 09 season )
Prince – 44.9% . . ( 7.1 ppg )
Gay – 44.6% . . ( 9.8 ppg )
Casspi – 44.6% . . ( 5.4 ppg )
Lebron – 43.6% . . ( 11.3 ppg )
Deng – 42.4% . . ( 8.5 ppg )
Anthony – 41% . . ( 11.3 ppg )
Iguodala – 41% . . ( 8 ppg )
Ariza – 41% . . ( 7.6 ppg )
G. Wallace – 40.7% . . ( 4.2 ppg )
R. Jefferson – 40.6% . . ( 5.1 ppg )
2010 M. Williams – 39% . . ( 3.9 ppg ) . . he CANNOT shoot this low at SF
Kirilenko – 38.8% . . ( 3.5 ppg )
Douglas-Roberts – 37.9% . . ( 3.6 ppg )
Marion – 37.8% . . ( 3.3 ppg )
Smoove – 36.3% . . ( 4.3 ppg ) . . ( Career high: 2005 – 06 season )
2010 Smoove – 28.5% . . ( 2.5 ppg )
Yeah . . it’ takes a little time to go through everything and compile a list like this ( 45 minutes to an hour ). But everyone has these tools at their disposal, if they know what they are looking for.
As you can see, Smoove’s jumpshooting last year AND his career high as a jumpshooter would still rank him DEAD LAST amongst the main SFs on other teams in 2010, when it comes to jumpshooting. And as you can also see, Smoove’s shot has NOT IMPROVED over the years. It’s actually gotten worse. So how is his shot going to all of a sudden get better?
So let’s review:
- he’s not a shooter
- he’s not a slasher on the perimeter that can put the ball on the ground vs SFs and score on them
- he’s not a lockdown perimeter defender that can stop slashing SFs
Playing Smoove more than spot minutes at the 3 is a BAD IDEA. No way around it.
northcyde
August 10th, 2010
2:26 pm
Play Smoove at SF, and say goodbye to the 15 – 17 ppg scoring Smoove. At SF, he’ll average 11 – 14 ppg, and simply be a role player on offense. So you better be sure that Horford can get you 20 ppg, or Zaza can get you 12+ ppg. And you better be sure that Smoove can stop people from scoring on the outside.
northcyde
August 10th, 2010
2:31 pm
And the only way he’d get to 14 ppg at SF, is if he scored a 40% of those points in transition. 14 ppg at SF is generous for him.
People are expecting the same Josh Smith that would play PF, if he played SF. Nah . . no way. His overall numbers would drop, just like Andrei Kirilenko’s did. And Smoove would be reduced to a role player, watching Al Horford get some of the shots that Josh used to take.
terrell
August 10th, 2010
3:50 pm
If Marvin can get us 12-14 ppg at sf, why would we even consider moving Josh there? Just because Horford says he likes to play pf, doesn’t mean we are going to move Josh to sf and START Al at the 4. He’ll get his min at pf this with Woody out of the picture. Like I said before, Al and Zaza played well together last year, but old stubborn but still would’nt play em together that much. I’m sure Drew saw the same thing that I did.
lou hudson
August 10th, 2010
4:32 pm
I agree that the current roster is missing a key piece in order to contend for the championship. I believe that to be a solid/good center. There are only two real choices Pryzbilla and Berdlens(GS). The Hawks have pieces to trade: ZaZa (4 mil/yr 3 more years), Marvin (7.5 mil/4yr more years, Mo Evans (2.5 mil 1 year left), and a first round pick along with 2 second round picks.
With Berdlens falling both out of favor and scheme will Don Nelson; the Hawks should be able to package a deal to acquire him. No, they won’t take Bibby’s 12 mil contract. However, a combination of players or picks should allow for a trade. Marvin is never going to be a star and the center positon is more critical. Pryzbilla probably can be had straight up for Marvin. Due to the fact that he is coming off a knee injury and Portland has three centers under contract as well as Portland currently does not a starting SF. If LD is truly running a motion offense, J Smoove should be fine at the 3. Moreover, the Hawks will need to sign a back up SF. D. Wilkins is a solid choice.
Go Hawks!
terrell
August 10th, 2010
4:37 pm
Priz and who?
terrell
August 10th, 2010
4:40 pm
Lou Hudson, Priz coming off a knee injury for Marvin? No thanks. I’d rather take my chances with Horford, Zaza and Cheesburger. Would much rather just sign a guy like Etan Thomas for the min than make some crazy trade for a 7 ftr with a bad knee.