Josh Smith Added Muscle to Play Closer to the Basket

With the NBA season just around the corner, that can only mean one thing: the glorious return of MUSCLEWATCH™, of course.

Josh Smith says he’s been adding bulk to his frame over the summer, as he looks to be more of a force in the post — Detroit Pistons can only pray this means less ill-advised long jumpers from Mr. Smith. Per the team website:

“I’m ready to play whatever position is asked of me,” said Smith, noticeably thicker in the chest and shoulders, in his first day back at the Pistons practice facility on Tuesday. “But I’m going to play a lot of (power forward) and that was my main focus on being able to get more in the weight room and put some more muscle on my body to be able to withstand that physicality in the paint. I played that position so much, so long in the league that I know how big you have to be in order to be able, night in and night out, to withstand that impact and that physical nature inside the paint.”

 

“I know that (Stan Van Gundy) believes in his system,” Smith said. “(Orlando) was one of our rival teams when I was in Atlanta. We saw them quite often. So that’s what I see – he believes in his system. He’s a really good, demonstrative coach. He knows what it takes to be successful in this league. It’s a proven fact with his body of work. When you’re able to be a part of a coach like that, you want to buy into his philosophies because you know they’ve worked.”

 

“Being able to play in the mid-range and attacking,” Smith said of his likeliest role. “If somebody comes over to help out, I’ll be able to find the open man and I’m very confident that those players are going to knock shots down because they’ve proven it their whole careers.” […] “He’s not only a very willing passer, but an outstanding passer,” Van Gundy says of Smith, who joined Caldwell-Pope at the same Atlanta gym focusing on upper-body weight work every other day over the summer. “I think it’s the best part of Josh’s game. Probably the most overlooked part of his game – his ability to create for teammates.”