TRANSFORMER: Josh Smith was spotted Saturday playing in the championship game of the Wallace Prather Jr. Pro Summer League and left an indelible impression on those of us who hadn’t seen him since the Hawks’ playoff run ended in that Game 7 loss in Boston in early May.
He’s transformed his upper body into a sculpted mass of muscles. He looked as physically imposing as I’ve ever seen him while tussling with an array of other Atlanta-born, bred or based pros at the Adamsville Recreational Center Saturday afternoon (by the way, his team lost the big trophy because they couldn’t slow down Javaris Crittenton and Louis Williams down the stretch of an extremely competitive contest).
Underneath the artcle was a comments section. Sekou Smith, who is the Hawks beat writer took some time to respond to some of the fans.
One fan asked him about how Josh Smith's outside shooting was.
quote:
By Sekou K. Smith
August 18, 2008 2:10 PM |
Josh shot quite a bit from deep. While he didn’t exactly make it rain in the first half, he knocked down at least 50 percent of his jumpers (combined inside and beyond the 3-point line) after halftime. If it wasn’t for the work he did inside and out his team would have gotten drubbed because Crittenton and Louis Williams were just too much for Jarrett Jack and the other guards on Smith’s team.
Another guy asked him if he knew where Crit was gonna end up?
quote:
By Sekou K. Smith
August 18, 2008 5:37 PM |
No clue about Crittenton’s final destination Mike. But I’ll say this, in a couple of years the teams that moved him will be mad they did. Young cats usually need some seasoning. When he’s ready, he’s going to be a tough matchup.
And lastly, I got lucky and Sekou answered a question from yours truly:
quote:
August 19, 2008 4:26 AM |
Hey Sekou, I’m an Orlando Magic fan. As has been rumored in the media, the Magic are contemplating trading For Javaris Crittenton as we still need a 3rd point guard. According to sources the sticking point seems to be the Magic’s reluctance to give up a 1st rounder and the fact that the Magic would prefer a distributing point guard more than a scoring point since we already have so many offensive weapons. How would you characterize Crit’s game and can he be an effective facilatator/distributor in that role? What about his defense? Thank you, sir.
By Sekou K. Smith
August 19, 2008 7:13 AM |
Jim, welcome to our party. Crittenton is a good passer and has played with Dwight before, which would have to be a good thing. He’s also a lot bigger than the PGs you have now and a more dynamic scorer.
With Hedo, Lewis and Dwight needing touches I can’t imagine it would be hard for any point guard to get that job done. It’s a rather simple task, get the ball to those cats when and where they like it. I think he’d be able to fill that role just fine. Facilitating to me is more of a mindset than it is a skill. Most young point guards have to wrap their minds around becoming more of a distributor/facilitator than the scoring PGs they were in college (sort of like what Acie Law IV is going through). It’s just a part of the process.
His defense is clearly his strongest attribute right now because of his size, athleticism and willingness to dive in and guard at a high level.
Originally posted by 30Assists: I'm still not sure. Maybe if Sekou could call them "cats" one more time, I could be convinced.
In short, he's bigger than our current PGs, so there's that. Could we get him for the right price? Dunno.
Still a rumormill.
We can get him if Otis wants too. This guy could be our future starting point guard easily, putting Jameer in a 6th man role he is better suited for.
6'5, athletic and willing to get physical and dig in defensively. Can you say Rajon Rando!?
After watching our backcourt defensively last year how could anyone not wanna take a chance on this guy? I'd put him out there just for defensive purposes and tell him if he's not ready to run the offense yet just give it to Hedo.
That's all Jameer did anyway!!!
Posts: 6624 | Location: Hangin' with the Kentucky Boyz...Bogans and Lee!!!!! | Registered: January 16, 2006
Facilitating to me is more of a mindset than it is a skill.
I agree, it's half mindset, half instinct
quote:
Most young point guards have to wrap their minds around becoming more of a distributor/facilitator than the scoring PGs they were in college (sort of like what Acie Law IV is going through). It’s just a part of the process.
Disagree, players can focuss on it and improve, but you either have it, or you don't. Dwight will never be Kevin Love passing the ball. Jameer will never be Deron Williams. It's like suggesting JJ will become a better athlete imo. It may seem more plausible, but it ain't gonna happen.
With that said, I still think J-Crit would be a solid player for Orlando. He has similiar offensive weaknesses to Jameer in terms of being a facilitator, but he consistently pushes the ball, attacks the rim, & he's not a weakness on the defensive end.
Posts: 2653 | Location: Pimpin tricks in the OMMB FFL | Registered: January 28, 2008
whoa. i'd take a risk on this crittendon. we could be regretting not trading for this guy. what pick in the draft was he? why was he so under the radar then?
so jj, and a first rounder to secure a position that we won't need a first rounder for next year? is that what they wanted? seriously pull the trigger on this one.
and.... did he say cat?
it had to be done.
Posts: 640 | Location: Orlando | Registered: December 26, 2007
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