George O'Brien
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I have an oft stated aversion to drafting HS players and just because the Suns got lucky doesn't change my opinion. At the same time, if you have to gamble, it makes more sense to me to gamble on an inside guy than a small forward who can only play one position.
When I read scouting reports I focus on weaknesses and how serious they are. Smith seems to have more than his share:
NBADRAFT.NET:
- Still doesn’t show great court awareness during games as he tends to make costly mental mistakes (BTW this was in the sectionon "strengths")
Will need to improve on his overall ball handling … This will aid him in taking opposing players off the dribble … While he has three point range he lacks consistency … Will need to work on his shot selection as he can get a little too carried away … Lacks any real post up game to take advantage of mismatches … Mid range shooting remains questionable off the dribble … Has a tendency to get careless with the ball … Concentration level tends to vary as he can seem almost uninterested in the game … Defensively he needs to work on becoming more committed … Settles at times for taking outside shots instead of driving to the basket … Decision making has some questions surrounding it due to his average basketball awareness.
DRAFTCITY.COM
WEAKNESSES:
Raw. So very raw. Smith, as amazing a prospect he is, does not have anything amounting to a complete game (on offense or defense). While he can leap high, that is generally all he can do on offense. His handle is not yet proficient enough to be able to drive against the better defenders in the NBA. Nor is his outside shot consistent enough (some games he can get very hot though) to deserve respect from a smart defender who would rather lay off and prevent the drive, daring Smith to shoot. Most of his scoring comes near the basket where he can simply sky over the smaller defenders or from putbacks. He cannot yet create his own shot consistently. His defense, other than the eerie shotblocking ability, is atrocious. For all his speed and athleticism he doesn't have the lateral quickness to play the faster players on the perimeter. He is also very lax on defense, barely trying at times. He simply cannot be asked to cover any better than average offensive player on the perimeter. The key in his weaknesses can be summed up in one word really: consistency. He needs more consistency instead of simply the flashes that he does show.
In an draftcity article, they said:
"Josh Smith is someone that rises and falls every day depending on whom you are talking to. Sometimes he looks fantastic (like in Phoenix last week) and sometimes he is downright terrible, like he was today in Philly. His outside shot comes and goes, his ball-handling is not even close to being NBA caliber, and he is pretty clueless when it comes to playing defense. But once he starts throwing down dunks, you tend to forget about all of that. If he falls past #6, its concievable he slips all the way to #17. "
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Every review I've read said his ball handling "needs work" and he is not a very good defender. He is an inconsistent shooter and doesn't get the basket very well in game situations considering he is such a great dunker.
He may have great "upside", but this is the profile of a guy who will spend a long time at the end of the bench.
When I read scouting reports I focus on weaknesses and how serious they are. Smith seems to have more than his share:
NBADRAFT.NET:
- Still doesn’t show great court awareness during games as he tends to make costly mental mistakes (BTW this was in the sectionon "strengths")
Will need to improve on his overall ball handling … This will aid him in taking opposing players off the dribble … While he has three point range he lacks consistency … Will need to work on his shot selection as he can get a little too carried away … Lacks any real post up game to take advantage of mismatches … Mid range shooting remains questionable off the dribble … Has a tendency to get careless with the ball … Concentration level tends to vary as he can seem almost uninterested in the game … Defensively he needs to work on becoming more committed … Settles at times for taking outside shots instead of driving to the basket … Decision making has some questions surrounding it due to his average basketball awareness.
DRAFTCITY.COM
WEAKNESSES:
Raw. So very raw. Smith, as amazing a prospect he is, does not have anything amounting to a complete game (on offense or defense). While he can leap high, that is generally all he can do on offense. His handle is not yet proficient enough to be able to drive against the better defenders in the NBA. Nor is his outside shot consistent enough (some games he can get very hot though) to deserve respect from a smart defender who would rather lay off and prevent the drive, daring Smith to shoot. Most of his scoring comes near the basket where he can simply sky over the smaller defenders or from putbacks. He cannot yet create his own shot consistently. His defense, other than the eerie shotblocking ability, is atrocious. For all his speed and athleticism he doesn't have the lateral quickness to play the faster players on the perimeter. He is also very lax on defense, barely trying at times. He simply cannot be asked to cover any better than average offensive player on the perimeter. The key in his weaknesses can be summed up in one word really: consistency. He needs more consistency instead of simply the flashes that he does show.
In an draftcity article, they said:
"Josh Smith is someone that rises and falls every day depending on whom you are talking to. Sometimes he looks fantastic (like in Phoenix last week) and sometimes he is downright terrible, like he was today in Philly. His outside shot comes and goes, his ball-handling is not even close to being NBA caliber, and he is pretty clueless when it comes to playing defense. But once he starts throwing down dunks, you tend to forget about all of that. If he falls past #6, its concievable he slips all the way to #17. "
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Every review I've read said his ball handling "needs work" and he is not a very good defender. He is an inconsistent shooter and doesn't get the basket very well in game situations considering he is such a great dunker.
He may have great "upside", but this is the profile of a guy who will spend a long time at the end of the bench.
