Hardwood Paroxysm: Basketball’s Multi-Sport Athletes

Josh Smith Would Make a Great Baseball Player

By Derek James (@derekjamesnba)

I just want to say, I’m not doing this to be mean. Josh Smith does a lot of great things — he can pass, defend, rebound and is a good post player. However, we all know the wart on his game is really his shot selection. He’s not very strong when trying to shoot from distance, and this really hurts teams and his image. It seems as if he doesn’t seem to understand his strengths and weaknesses enough to stay away from the three ball, and while it’s a little funny, it’s incredibly frustrating if you happen to be a fan of the team he plays for.

With all that being said, I have a solution: baseball. Baseball is one game where it’s acceptable to swing as hard as you want as long as you can hit .260. This way, Smoove could try to swing for the fences and not be subjected to criticism for failing to convert three-fourths of the time. Worst case scenario, he makes contact, and even though he doesn’t hit a home run, he’s able to get a double out of the deal. I wouldn’t imagine that he would be a very patient hitter and try to take many pitches, but none of that would matter if he hit .275 with 37 home runs every year. Sure, he’d swing at every first pitch, but you’d watch just knowing that he was trying to find the gap or hit it over the fence every single time. Think Vladimir Guerrero meets Adam Dunn.

Maybe a tryout with the Detroit Tigers is in order next spring.

Zach LaVine Would Make a Great Long Jumper

By David Vertsberger (@_Verts)

Um, hello: