2013 NBA Free Agency: Free-Agent Power Rankings (1-5)

4. Josh Smith

May 3, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks small forward Josh Smith (5) looks down the court in the second half of game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena. The Pacers won 81-73. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Smith is a player that has so much physical talent but lacks the basketball IQ to go along with it. The 6’9 power forward has an explosive leap and a formidable wing span, but the IQ shows up in his shot selection.

Offensively, Smith is at his best when he is dunking or laying up the ball. This might be obvious to some, but it is clearly not obvious to Smith, who made 97.1 percent of his dunk attempts and 66.7 percent of his layups. These numbers are even more impressive when you consider that 32.6 percent of his dunks were unassisted, and 40.1 percent of his layups were unassisted.

Conversely, Smith made 30.7 percent of his jump shots. Now that is not inherently bad, but the issue is attempts. Smith attempted more jump shots than dunks and layups combined. He attempted 674 jump shots, 221 of them coming from beyond the arc, while only making 207 of those attempts and only 66 of the three-point attempts. He attempted 380 combined dunks and layups.

Perhaps I should not place all the blame on the prep-to-pro forward, because maybe Atlanta’s offense is forcing Smith to take these shots. Perhaps smart defenders know to force him to take these shots. Whatever it is, Smith has a one-dimensional game at best, and his inability to shoot is the major blemish on his offensive repertoire.

Defensively, Smith was nothing to write home about during the regular season, but he elevated his defensive play during the postseason. When he was on the court, opponents shot 3.9 percent worse than when he wasn’t. His seven-foot wingspan combined with his vertical leap is one of the reasons why he is a great shot blocker. He ranks 10th among all the active players in the NBA in career blocks, which is quite impressive given his smaller stature.

All in all, Smith represents someone who needs a little more fine tuning to truly be worth the max contract he will demand this offseason.