Monday, February 04, 2008

Josh Smith: Best Shot-Blocking Swingman Ever?

I'm watching the Hawks battle the Sixers right now and feel compelled to ask the question. It is currently halftime and Smith already has eight blocks in the first 24 minutes. Not only that, there wasn't a cheep one in the bunch. He continues to amaze me with his ability to block shots in every fashion imaginable. He gets off the ground with amazing quickness, which allows him to block his own man's shot (a pretty rare skill), he chases guys down the break better than anyone in the league (yes, better than Tayshaun Prince), and of course he can swat shots from the weak side as a help defender.

Before Smith I probably would have said Dr. J or maybe Larry Natz (if you could call him a "perimeter" player), but I think the 6'9" freak of nature is in the process of settling this debate. I never, ever thought I would see a guy that can play shooting guard and still block 4 shots a game. Amazing.

[Update: Smith finished with just one more block in the game, as the Sixers treated him like a shutdown NFL corner and just tried to stay away from him for the remainder of the contest. Nevertheless, Smith finished the game with 9 blocks to go with 9 assists. Any researchers out there know the last time that happened?]

[Double Update: Thanks to Bloughchi, who gave us the answer to the research question:

"The only other times 9 or more blocks and 9 or more assists have been recorded in the same game:

3/3/1990 by Hakeem Olajuwon in a quadruple double.

3/29/1990 by Hakeem Olajuwon in another quadruple double

2/17/1994 by David Robinson in, you guessed it, another quadruple double.

That's quite some company if you ask me."]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The only other times 9 or more blocks and 9 or more assists have been recorded in the same game:

3/3/1990 by Hakeem Olajuwon in a quadruple double.

3/29/1990 by Hakeem Olajuwon in another quadruple double

2/17/1994 by David Robinson in, you guessed it, another quadruple double.

That's quite some company if you ask me.