Rockets re-acquire Josh Smith in trade with Clippers

Behind Lawson? I agree...

 

I wonder what our record would be if he had stayed??..29-16??

 

This comment made my day..lol

 

That was a pretty ass dime tho Lmao

 

In a renewed series against the Clippers Smith will play his best and I think it will be close

Clips still being the favorite

 

Josh Smith gives Rockets look of a winner against Bucks

12:11 AM ET
Calvin Watkins
ESPN Staff Writer

HOUSTON -- It was like last season for the Houston Rockets in a 102-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

The Rockets played like the old Rockets, a team that passed the ball with a level of consistency, attacked the boards and didn’t mind being short-handed for a spell. And oh yeah, the Rockets’ players were smiling.

This is what happens when you have a big man who can distribute, such as Josh Smith, who had six assists in his first game back with the team following this week's trade with the Clippers. When you have willing passers, something else happens -- guys make shots, especially the best player on this team, James Harden. He scored 30 points on an efficient 15 shots, and added eight assists because when his teammates are making buckets, he becomes more of a willing passer.

The Rockets played with passion on Friday night, and when that occurs they’re very good.

“It feels good actually,” Harden said. “Josh is very talented, but he’s skilled and he’s smart enough to know in the pick-and-roll he gets hit in the pocket, corner 3s are open. He found Trevor (Ariza), different guys for several times. He did the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet but help teams win.”


Josh Smith made his teammates better in his first game back with the Rockets, with his six assists helping set the tone against the Bucks. Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports
With the ball moving around, the Rockets took a season-high 44 3-point attempts, making 34.1 percent. It was the first time this group had attempted 40 or more 3s in a game all season, after breaking the NBA record for 3-point attempts last season. The Rockets attempted at least 40 3-point field goals 12 times last season.

When you take a huge number of 3s, the ball gets touched a lot and players are confident in their ability to hit shots, which happened often last season.

“It felt good (Friday), Josh is going to bring a lot to us,” Corey Brewer said. “Just like last year in our system, Josh is great just how he moves the ball, the way he rebounds, he’s just a good teammate. Friday showed how when we’re moving the ball and how we’re playing together is good for us.”

In ending this two-game losing streak, the Rockets might have solved some of their issues by bringing Smith back to the team.

“I’m more familiar with these core guys that are here and being able to talk to them and give my insight on the game when they allow me to do,” Smith said. “It keeps me engaged in the game.”

Last year, Smith was part of a Rockets team that reached the conference finals and raised the expectations in Houston.

We all know what happened next, so with Smith returning, maybe another run will come from this Rockets team. Jason Terry noted Friday morning that there is a lot of basketball to be played, and while that's correct, the Rockets have to produce on the floor.

Adding Smith brings a big man who can pass, shoot from the outside (though he missed nine of 10 shots Friday), defend the rim and bring a high basketball IQ to the game.

When you have those attributes, it allows other players to produce. There was Trevor Ariza scoring 19 points and leading the team with a plus-15. Terrence Jones came off the bench to score 14 points and snag eight rebounds.

As a team, against a bigger opponent, the Rockets had a season-high 10 blocked shots. And even without three regulars due to injuries, the Rockets did the little things, as Brewer noted, such as boxing out and making the extra pass to get open looks.

Yes, just like last season.

“One of the things you’ll begin to see as we go forward, the more involved everyone is, the more energy we have on the defensive end of the floor,” interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We’ve got multiple playmakers on the floor. Everyone seems to touch it more, and they’re willing to get off of it and move it. When the ball moves like that, we’re hard to guard because we have so many weapons offensively.”

 

He a good help defender and defensive player in general , a good passer for his size and a good play maker.... no wonder we've been struggling this season we lost it all when he left .

 

First time I feel we really see how good this team can be

 

yep along with his piss and vinegar attitude on and off the court keeping the team in check when necessary. Rox became a SOFT ream overnight without him.

 

Yo da real MPV with no stats Smoove!

 

Houston Rockets 102, Milwaukee Bucks 98: The prodigal son returns
by FORREST WALKER | JANUARY 22, 2016 at 10:18 PM

Josh Smith is home. The Houston Rockets trades for Josh Smith and set him loose on the Milwaukee Bucks on the same day, a feat as unexpected as it was joyous. Smoove helped the city of Houston celebrate by contributing defense and passing on the way to a win over the Milwaukee Bucks. It wasn’t the prettiest win, and the defense still needs work, and the Rockets still cant grab a rebound, but there were open shots to miss, and passes made to find them. For once, the Houston Rockets looked like they were glad to be there.
The Bucks are bad and the Rockets are talented enough that they won despite some defensive breakdowns, poor defensive rebounding, and more frustrating layup misses. The lead was around ten digits all game, but the Bucks capitalized late and made it close in the last two minutes. Khris Middleton would be better than people think if anyone ever thought of him, Greg Monroe is starting to comprehend what defense is, and Giannis Antentokounmpo is a crafty, spidery man. James Harden’s line was an impressive 30 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and only 2 turnovers.
Okay, so that’s what happened in the game. Now let’s get down to business.
Josh Smith. Is back. In Houston. We could talk about his shooting woes (1-10 for 2 points is pretty yikes). We could talk about how he’s never really been as good as teams would like (that Pistons run… yikes). We could even talk about how grim it is that getting back Josh Smith is a beacon of hope this season (this year has been double yikes). Maybe we’ll talk about that later. Not today, though. Today we welcome this prodigal son with open arms and have a feast in his honor. Everything may fall apart tomorrow, but for today the Rockets have a reason to celebrate.
Josh Smith left in the summer as a free agent, seeking a larger and more defined role with the Los Angeles Clippers. This was a completely reasonable decision, given that the Houston Rockets were reportedly open with the fact that his role in Houston was vague and probably limited. However, over the first two months of the season, Smith’s role on the Clippers grew smaller and smaller until coach and president of basketball operations Glenn “Doc” Rivers saw fit to trade Smith back to Houston.
The Rockets sent the Clippers the draft rights to Maarty Leunen and Serhiy Lischuk. The Clippers sent Josh Smith and cash considerations reportedly to cover his salary. Since Smith is on a minimum deal, the Rockets did not have to send back any salary.
If you put this trade into ESPN’s trade machine, it should rate the wins gained as “+5 happiness.” Everything from the Rockets organization, players, and Smith himself is unexpectedly heartwarming. Watching Josh Smith and his teammates beam about his return has been the highlight of the season. He’s said “I’m happy to be here” about a thousand times today, and it just might be true. This is all intangibles and “chemistry” and fluff stuff, but in this year, with this season, the Rockets need that most of all. Smith might not be successful elsewhere, but he’s found a home in Houston. Nobody begrudges his departure now that he’s returned.
He’s back and the team might be whole again.
He’s also pretty good at basketball, as it turns out. He might not be amazing at shooting the ball, but he did pick up 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks in 21 minutes. Those are exactly the kinds of numbers the Rockets need someone to put up. He has an amazing eye and can pass out of the paint, something which has been sorely lacking. He might shoot the Rockets out of games sometimes, but he’ll also bring much needed energy, effort and enthusiasm. This is good for the team on every level.
We’ll get into the worry and hand-wringing later. There will be plenty. Today, tonight? Daryl Morey and the Rockets front office hired a chartered jet just to get Josh Smith home as soon as possible. That’s how much this veteran minimum bench player means to this team. Today is a time to smile for once, something the Rockets and their fans badly need.
Welcome home, Josh.

 

Great court vision. Strong on the glass. Hard nosed defender. Everything the Rockets needed PLUS added chemistry. Offense was never the problem with this team, not too concerned with his bad shooting night.

 

here you go ...

July by oakdogg
How Underrated is Josh Smith

 

You know.

 

I think that author should learn what prodigal means.

 

People were wonder . . .. WHY DID DOC DO IT?

Cause Doc is a former player
He knows how ****TY it is to bench/trade to a ****ty team/cut a player
and could not do it

He didn't make the NEVER PLAYED COACH/GM decision
He made the Former Player Decision

Cause sometimes you want to win cause you the better player
not because you hamstringed the other team

So a Win of the Rockets would be better with JSmoove
than with out

It might not be 'Smart'
but
It is Honorable

He gave JSmoove a shot at being a part of a team he liked
cannot hate on that
Esp since he saw he could not forfill his promise to JSmoove

Rocket River
Big Ups for the DOC

 

Need him playing 30min a game

 

I think he was mad about being put on the back burner when we went all in for LaMarcus Aldridge.

 

JB said on 790 that he thought it was a "class move" by the Clippers organization.

 

The more I think about this, it's amazing how much Smith probably cost himself by choosing the Clippers. Unless things really work out here to an extreme level, I can't see Smith ever earning much more than a few million for the rest of his career.

By leaving us, we no longer hold any rights so we'll have to use cap space, so even if we want him back we could be in the exact same scenario next offseason. More importantly he has to be even more radioactive to the rest of the league than he was last off season when he could only muster the vet's minimum. If he had stayed here and showed another full season of solid locker room presence and on court production with a winner, I imagine he could have found a sound deal in the off season. Instead he now has that Clippers blight on his resume.

This barely hurt us at all in the long term, because we still have plenty of time to right the ship and do whatever we thought we could. If we don't do playoff damage it's because we were never going to, not because Smith was gone for half the year. Bad decision was really, really bad on his part.