sc8581 wrote:DBC10 wrote:sc8581 wrote:
Most of those you're referring to thought Smith was a better PF, not necessarily a better player. Neither has been proven has it? Didn't think so
And they'd still be wrong, we had a better record with Moose at PF before Jennings went down than we ever did with Smith sniffing anywhere near a starting spot here.
5-23.
For starters, how many of those games did Smith start at PF? It also doesn't matter what their record was, it doesn't prove anything. SVG was trying to sort of showcase Smith so he could trade him, if we had the right players around him that may have worked. What's their record with Tolliver and Meeks? Pretty decent huh, maybe they are the reason and not Smith being gone. How would Smith have faired at the 3 with Tolliver at the 4? Houston has a better record than we do since signing Smith, guess he's better right? Exactly, it makes no sense just like your argument.
Well I edited my post since then since I knew you were going to drag along an argument regardless.
If you somehow missed the plethora of posts saying that Smith plays exactly the same at the 3 or 4 on here then I don't know what else to tell you, since it wouldn't have mattered. He commanded too much money at the time and wanted touches like a 1st option because of it. Look at HOU, they started Smith with Howard and their record was absolutely terrible and even Harden suffered as a result. It was only when they benched him they began to bounce back. That more than tells you something since Bev can shoot the 3ball, Harden also can, and Aria can also. But they still couldn't make Smith and Howard work. Smith and Dre wouldn't have worked even if we did surrounded them with shooters, since HOU tried that experiment.
It doesn't matter what the record would have been with Smith sitting, our team was better with Smith off court than Monroe off court was during the Smith era. That alone says enough.
Let's be real, Tolliver did the same thing JJ did and Meeks went on a massive slump after his debut and we still had a better record with Drumroe + Jennings. Law and Meeks contributed sure, but it was primarily with our starters stepping up. We went on the longest NBA streak at the time before we lost to the Hawks.
That HOU logic only makes sense for Smiths case if he were actually good enough to start. But nope, he can't even beat out the oft injured Jones for the starter spot since he clogs the lane with inefficient chucking and lack of post moves since his athleticism faded.