Josh Smith has agreed to sign with the Rockets

Playing much better off the bench, you can see his comfort growing.

Only thing that is really ticking me off is that he can't seem to restrain himself from shooting those long 2's. I don't want him shooting much period, but that 16-20 foot jumper is radioactive, that's Rockets 101. Mid-range jumpers are perfectly OK, but if you stand that far away get behind the line.

I dunno if we haven't made that clear, or if he's ignoring it, but it needs to stop. He takes like 2 or 3 a game.

 

He has been great, but I don't understand why he won't step into the 15 footer when it is open, electing for the college 3.

Hopefully McHale and Morey get with him on this. He could be a decent shooter if he just stuck to the Scola/Landry distance jumpers. 17 feet and in...

 

The headline from the Cavs game is what happened in the 4th quarter. With Harden sitting, we went on a tear because Smith and Brewer together can replace enough of his playmaking and finishing.

That is huge huge huge. One of the main liabilities of this team is that we've been overdependent on Harden and would be dead in the water without him. That's no longer true. Our season can now withstand a Harden injury.

 

The one where he said the Rockets' "ceiling is through the roof?"

 

I caught that last night. If we overlook his brief disastrous run as a starter, that's a pretty good record with him coming off the bench. This could wind up being a move that benefits both us and the Pistons.

 

Please make the image larger, can barely see the numbers.

 

Quite frankly, I'm very surprised Josh Smith is so quickly and willing to go to the bench. Perhaps I had the wrong opinion of him, but honestly thought he'd cause some trouble there. Kudos to him. It just goes to show you that the guy knows the difference between a bad shot and a good shot. He probably just didn't care in Detroit to pass up on bad ones.

More importantly, McHale's not playing Harden a ton even in non-blowouts. I think that's the key, that McHale TRUSTS Brewer and Josh Smith enough to keep Harden on the bench. He never had that before. We would have these 10 points lead early 4th and Harden would just roll in and end up playing 38 minutes. That's not happening anymore.

 

And Dwight scored 7 of the first 9 points of the quarter.

 

That 5-10 foot baby hook he had going on last night was smooooothhhhhh. Do that more Smith

 

When he plays under control, he is a great player..

Rockets need Ariza and Bev to make open shots.