We already knew that Stan Van Gundy was a fantastic basketball coach, but if he can pull this off, we just might have underestimated him. Van Gundy says he's spoken with forward Josh Smith about his shot selection entering the season, and the veteran "has a very good understanding of the shots he needs to shoot" going forward.
Josh Smith ‘understands’ need to shoot fewer threes, Pistons fans rejoice
We need to see it actually happen in games, but Stan Van Gundy says Josh Smith is aware of the need to shoot fewer three-pointers. That’s good news for the Pistons.
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In other words, Van Gundy has convinced Smith to shoot fewer three-pointers. This could be very, very good news for the Pistons.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to explain why:
Smith is, in many ways, the worst kind of shooter: one who insists upon taking shots he can’t consistently hit, even though he’s skilled enough to earn far superior opportunities. Near the basket, Smith dominates opponents with his size, length and athleticism; away from the basket, opponents gleefully give him space in exchange for clangs off the iron.
The 28-year-old has long been one of the most impressive athletes in the NBA, but he's increasingly fancied himself a sharpshooter over the years. Last season, Smith took a career-high 3.4 three-pointers per game, and his efficiency was among the worst in the league. The insistence on long distance shots also limited his ability to draw fouls, and he posted his lowest FT rate since 2005-06, when he was a 20-year-old member of the Atlanta Hawks.
This is certainly something we’ll need to see in game action before fully believing, but SVG has done great things as a coach before. Smith could be one of the better players in the league if he can polish his shot selection, and the coach surely knows that. Here’s to seeing if we’ll actually see that SVG magic in action.
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