Smith isn't better then Dmo or Jones, their all equal IMO. If you want to say Smith is better then Jones it's only slightly, and if where counting slightly then Beverley is better then Rivers and Prigs. So that means the bench is equal, Ariza is also better then Pierce at this point in his career (on defense not offense). So if your doing the whole greater equal less thing then the Rockets and Clips tie for the starters and bench. But I don't think that's a legit way to measure how talented a team is, especially since the starting group is very mismatched in talent (Harden/Reddick, Griffin/Motie).
I'll give you that Bev isn't a quality starting PG. But he's a quality 2nd string PG for sure. He's not a bad player on offense and he's an energizer bunny on defense. Jones and Dmo are not starting quality on most contenders. I'll concede that but when we're discussing the bench, we're not talking about starting quality. Either one of them is good coming off the bench. Smith was good and his experience helped a lot, but he was far too unpredictable. He had a great playoffs, but he's not the same guy he was in Atlanta.
Josh smith response to the greedy accusations. Sorry if already posted... http://www.theplayerstribune.com/josh-smith-clippers/
It's funny that Josh Smith can take league minimum salary to play for a contender and people would call him greedy.
Damn.... clips is deep. Say what you want, but Lance/Josh/PP are all x factors that will makes a different between a good team and a great team.
I seriously think Paul Pierce is the most under-rated signing of this offseason. The Clippers offseason has been dominated by the whole Deandre saga, but the under the radar signings of Paul Pierce, trade for Lance Stephenson, and league minimum signings of Wes Johnson, Josh Smith, Cole Adrich, and Pablo Prigioni put the Clippers roster in the same conversation as the Warriors now. And with a starting lineup that includes: PG: CP3 (Hall of Fame) SG: JJ Redick (44% 3 point shooter) SF: Paul Pierce (Hall of Fame) PF: Blake Griffin (Hall of Fame) C: Deandre (Best rebounder and rim protector in the league) Doc Rivers absolutely has no excuse not to win the title next season. I mean, the Clippers had the best starting lineup in the league last year and they replaced Matt Barnes with Paul Pierce. Yes, Paul Pierce is old, but he was able to do this last season: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc-0c4QhtaE And playing with the starting five, the Clippers run the high double pick and roll with Deandre and Blake and Redick sitting outside for a three. Paul Pierce will not really need to create his own shot this season. Barnes got to sit wide open the majority of the game and Pierce will burn teams that try to do that. It will be pick your poison. Either give up lob dunks to Deandre or Blake or let Redick or Pierce take wide open shots. Either way, CP3 is going to probably set his career high in assists next season.
