So who/what is most responsible for Josh Smith's turnaround?

[Done_And_Done]

A few months ago this guy was widely perceived as one of the biggest cancers in the entire league. SVG was practically apotheosized for waiving him, while social media outlets viewed him as a laughing stock. In the D he was leading the team in FGA while shooting an abysmal clip. He seems to have found himself in Houston. So what is it about his situation in Texas that has made him an asset again.

Is it Mchale?
The Rockets style of play?
The fact he's been given free reign to play the way he wants?
Confidence?
A combo of variables?

Ps - I would still loathe Masai if he ever signed or traded for Smith but that's besides the point.

[ClipperRevival]

Style of play is a big part. He was out of position in Detroit and their style was too slow and bigs oriented. Houston plays an uptempo style and this allows his athleticism to more easily impact the game.

Playing with Howard, his friend also can't hurt. But in the end, it's confidence. Like L.Odom, Smith was a guy who always played below his talents and seemed to lack that drive. Everyone knew if his brains matched his talents, he would be good.

[TheMarkMadsen]

Josh Smith

[no pun intended]

Josh Smith
This.

[ZMonkey11]

Probably him getting less minutes has reduced his time allowed to **** up. I mean, hrs still taking 4 3s a game and shooting horribly from the ft.

Hrs just played less than usual, this Tragic Bronson

[ImKobe]

Dwight Howard.

[rezznor]

contract year

[FreezingTsmoove]

Kevin McHale playing him at the 4 instead of the 3 :facepalm

Detroit is so dumb he is a great PF. Not a SF

[Rake2204]

Kevin McHale playing him at the 4 instead of the 3 :facepalm

Detroit is so dumb he is a great PF. Not a SFJosh Smith was playing power forward almost exclusively for the Pistons this year. Greg Monroe was coming off the bench while Smith started at the four and Andre Drummond at the five prior to his departure.

The Pistons were playing at a higher tempo pace this season. One of the biggest issues with the team came when Smith would clear a rebound (and he can rebound well) then take off down the court with the ball in his hands. He forced, took awful shots, and generally made very risky passes (that sometimes worked out very well).

Once Smith left Detroit, the team's tempo became even quicker because defensive rebounds began outletting exclusively to Brandon Jennings or D.J. Augustin, who were both faster and better playmakers than Smith (as they should be - they're point guards).

I think The MarkMadsen is right - Josh Smith may be most responsible for the turnaround of Josh Smith. He moved to a team that was already known for having something really special going and he was with friends, so he was able to take the initiative, chill out on trying to do too much, and play with the confidence of having a very strong support system.

[Kobe_6/8]

After Van Gundy kept telling Josh Smith to stop shooting 3's, he was a broken man...in Houston he is encouraged to make 3's so he thrives.

[QuebecBaller]

contract year

This

[keep-itreal]

I have no idea how he turned into Lebron James in the 4th quarter

[ralph_i_el]

Detroit had too many big men so he was forced to play the 3 too much. He's not a good 3 point shooter, but when he's at the 4 his impact on spacing is not nearly as bad as when you play him as a 3. Plus he's friends with Dwight.

He's far below par as a shooter at the 3, but only slightly bad compared to your average 4 man. Plus playing against bigs lets him flash his handle and passing ability. He really is just a poor man's Blake Griffin. Undersized 4 with outstanding athleticism and passing, with a shaky shot.

[Dro]

There was a story on ESPN about him a couple weeks back. It was a good read. Talked about the influence of his father I believe. He goes to every game. Ill see if I can find it.

[Haymaker]

Kevin McHale playing him at the 4 instead of the 3 :facepalm

Detroit is so dumb he is a great PF. Not a SF

He is not a great anything. :oldlol: at you guys overreacting.

[Rake2204]

Detroit had too many big men so he was forced to play the 3 too much. He's not a good 3 point shooter, but when he's at the 4 his impact on spacing is not nearly as bad as when you play him as a 3. Plus he's friends with Dwight.

He's far below par as a shooter at the 3, but only slightly bad compared to your average 4 man. Plus playing against bigs lets him flash his handle and passing ability. He really is just a poor man's Blake Griffin. Undersized 4 with outstanding athleticism and passing, with a shaky shot.Not to sound like a broken record, and I can't blame people for not watching the Pistons, but Smith played power forward this entire season. Greg Monroe came off the bench as a part of a three-man rotation up front. Usually Andre Drummond would be in foul trouble or become winded, so Monroe would come in at the five and Smith would stay at the four. Then when Smith sat, Monroe would slide to the four while Drummond came back at the five. So on and so forth.

Josh Smith's problem in Detroit was Josh Smith. He wasn't just a far below par shooter for a 3 (which he only played in emergency situations this year), he was a far below part shooter for anyone in the NBA, ever (his 39/24/47 FG/3P/FT was on pace for the worst combined in league history for a player attempting 12 shots a game).

Smith took awful shots, frequently driving to his right to shoot off-balance lefty floaters in the opposite direction from 14 feet away. He was terrible at finishing, even in close proximity to the hoop. He wasn't even shooting a ton of 3-pointers this year (1.3 attempts per in Detroit), though the ones he did were typically ill-advised and ineffective (the aforementioned 24% shooting from deep).

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g423/Rake2204/SmithShotChart.png

On top of everything else, he loved taking off down the court with the ball in his hands, usually at a pace just slightly above jogging, allowing defenses to recover before pile-driving into a defender's chest and shooting a floater or throwing an off-balance emergency pass to a no-longer-open teammate.

Most maddening was the fact that he had many, many skills. He just never seemed to realize what he was good at and bad at during his time in Detroit. Very nice rebounder, could pass well when he didn't force, and was great finishing lanes. He was just always going out of his way to try to be so much more, as if he believed he was a LeBron James-level talent, and it was terrible.

[jayfan]

Have to give McHale credit here. He knew how to play him.





.

[MiseryCityTexas]

Kevin McHale playing him at the 4 instead of the 3 :facepalm

Detroit is so dumb he is a great PF. Not a SF

Smith played a lot at small forward in Atlanta during Matchups and situation periods.

[jayfan]

Kevin McHale playing him at the 4 instead of the 3 :facepalm

Detroit is so dumb he is a great PF. Not a SF

Van Gundy was playing him at the 4 most of this season. But the stretch 4, with an emphasis on stretch. He allowed Smith to float on the perimeter and handle the ball way too much. McHale demanded a more structured role out of Smith, and it's worked out nicely.

[ILLsmak]

He doesn't wanna play on a bad team, apparently.

Most people get better when they can see their contributions equal wins.

-Smak