Tag Archives: Josh Smith

Doubtful Josh Smith getting back in rotation any time soon

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Josh Smith

Josh Smith/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Josh Smith played 6 1/2 minutes Saturday during the fourth quarter, when the Clippers’ eventual 130-99 victory over the 76ers was out of reach. Smith had not played in three consecutive games and five of the previous six since being taken out of the rotation.

Coach Doc Rivers initially seemed a bit perturbed post-game when a reporter asked him what Smith has to do to get back in the rotation. His spot has basically been taken by Cole Aldrich, who has been playing well.

“I don’t even want to think about that stuff right now,” said Rivers, whose team next plays Wednesday at Portland. “We’re playing well, so for me, I’m just worried about who I’m playing and then when someone else is not, then we’ll put Josh in or someone else in. But right now, why would you want to touch what’s going on?

“That’s what I would be thinking from a coaching standpoint.”

Rivers again intimated Smith is handling his demotion with professionalism.

“I’ve gotta tell you again – Josh’s spirit has been terrific,” Rivers said. “He’s been very good. I usually don’t put veterans in down the stretch like that and I asked him and he said, ‘I want to go, I want to play,’ which was very nice. He could have said no and I think nine out of 10 veterans would have.”

The Clippers (22-13) have won six consecutive games.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 130-99 victory over 76ers

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Los Angeles Clippers center Cole Aldrich #45 shoots a hook over Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor #8 in the first quarter. The Los Angeles Clippers played the Philadelphia 76ers in a regular season NBA game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA 1/2/2016 (photo by John McCoy/Los Angeles News Group)

Cole Aldrich goes up for a shot as Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor defends/Staff photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Newspaper Group

 

– With Blake Griffin still on the shelf with a partially torn left quad tendon, others have had to pick up the scoring slack during what is now a six-game winning streak. In this game, it was Austin Rivers and DeAndre Jordan. Rivers is averaging 8.1 points on the season, and he scored 26. Jordan is averaging 11.5 points, and he scored 22.

– The Clippers shot a fantastic 60.5 percent from the field, 52.2 (12 of 23) from 3-point range. But Chris Paul had his third poor shooting game in succession. He shot 4 of 12, 1 of 4 from beyond the arc. He is 11 of 43 (25.6 percent) over the past three games, 1 of 11 (9.1 percent) from long-distance.

– Paul Pierce was given a day of rest, so Wesley Johnson started at one of the forward spots. He came through with 12 points, all on 3-point baskets. He was 4 of 8 overall from the field, 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

– It’s not going to be easy for Josh Smith to get back into the rotation, though he did get six minutes during garbage time in this one. His replacement, Cole Aldrich, had another solid showing. He scored eight points on 4 of 6 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in 11 1/2 minutes. He did have three turnovers and five fouls, however, so it wasn’t all good. Smith had not played the previous three games, and five of the previous six.

– Then there is J.J. Redick. He shot 50 percent (45 of 90) from 3-point range during the month of December. He began January by making 4 of 5 in this one. He is now shooting 49.1 percent (81 of 165) from beyond the arc this season, second only to Kawhi Leonard of San Antonio. He’s shooting 49.6 percent (64 of 129).

 

Another big night by J.J. Redick, DeAndre Jordan rebounding lift Clippers to win at New Orleans

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Doc Rivers encourages the Clippers during the first half of their 95-89 victory New Years Eve at New Orleans/AP photo by Gerald Herbert

 

The Clippers on New Years Eve continued to play well without Blake Griffin, winning their fourth consecutive game sans their leading scorer with a 95-89 victory at New Orleans.

The Clippers (21-13) have won five in a row, overall.

The Clippers out-rebounded the Pelicans 47-42, with DeAndre Jordan pulling down 20. Jordan also had 11 points and three blocked shots.

J.J. Redick scored 26 points for the second consecutive night to lead the team in scoring. He made 9 of 15 from the field, 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Chris Paul had a horrible night shooting, making just 3 of 18 from the field, and that was largely responsible for the team’s 38.9 percentage from the field. He did have 12 assists, five rebounds and two steals to go along with nine points.

The bench did its part, scoring 40 points. Jamal Crawford led that unit with 15 points and Austin Rivers scored nine on 3 of 9 shooting. Wes Johnson scored seven, but shot just 3 of 10 – 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.

Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson did not play.

Ryan Anderson led the Pelicans (10-22) with 17 points off the bench. Another reserve, Norris Cole, scored 15. Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans led the New Orleans starters with 14 points apiece. Davis also had 15 rebounds and two blocks.

Coach Doc Rivers stoked about recent play of Clippers bench

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Los Angeles head coach Doc Rivers makes a point to his son, Austin Rivers (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015.

Austin Rivers, who chats here with father/coach Doc Rivers, led the bench with 22 points in Wednesday’s 122-117 victory at Charlotte/AP photo by Bob Leverone

 

Josh Smith has not played the past two games, and has not played in four of the past five. Lance Stephenson has played a total of only 15 minutes the past three games. Yet, the bench is playing well in the absence of the team’s leading scorer – Blake Griffin (partially torn quad tendon). Griffin has missed the past three games, all of which the Clippers (20-13) have won; they have won four in a row, overall.

Reserves scored 44 of the team’s 109 points in a 109-104 victory at Utah this past Saturday, 54 of the team’s points in a 108-91 victory Monday at Washington and 47 of the team’s points in a 122-117 victory Wednesday at Charlotte.

In that win at Charlotte, Austin Rivers led the reserves with 22 points. Jamal Crawford scored 11. Cole Aldrich, who has been playing very well since he started getting minutes six games ago, had seven points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks; and Pablo Prigioni had five points and four assists.

Coach Doc Rivers was stoked about the bench play post-game at Charlotte. He noted how the reserves stayed in a little longer in the fourth quarter.

“I left them in until five minutes (left in the game), which I don’t do a lot,” he said. “They are just playing with the right spirit. You can just see it. You can just see the ball moving. They are so active defensively.”

This is becoming an upbeat unit, Doc Rivers said.

“I think when your team is confident and your group is confident, everybody becomes confident,” he said. “You can see that in that group.”

 

Five things to take from Clippers’ 122-117 victory at Charlotte

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Coach Doc Rivers and son Austin Rivers chat during the Clippers’ 122-117 victory Wednesday at Charlotte/AP photo by  Bob Leverone

 

– The Clippers, as they have recently, once again showed a lot of resolve even though they were missing leading scorer Blake Griffin, who has missed the past three games with a partially torn quad tendon. The Clippers have won four in a row overall.

– Another solid game by a the bench, which has not included the services of Josh Smith, who apparently remains in Doc Rivers’ doghouse; Smith has now not played in four of the past five games. Even Lance Stephenson played only two minutes in this one. Austin Rivers led the reserves with 22 points, Jamal Crawford scored 11, Cole Aldrich had seven points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks; and Pablo Prigioni had five points – making both of his field-goal attempts – and four assists.

– J.J. Redick scored a team-high 26 points and made 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Redick is now shooting a career-high 47.7 percent (73 of 153) from beyond the arc. Redick is third in the league behind Kawhi Leonard (48.8 percent) of San Antonio and Jared Dudley (48.3) of Washington.

– Another solid effort from 38-year-old Paul Pierce, who started and played 21 minutes. He scored 13 points. He shot 4 of 9, 3 of 7 from 3-point range. He also grabbed five rebounds, doled out two assists, made a steal and had a block.

– Speaking of 3-pointers, the Clippers shot 50 percent (15 of 30) from long-distance. After struggling in this area early on, the Clippers are now shooting 35.3 percent from 3-point range – tied with Portland for 13th in the league. A month ago, the Clippers’ percentage was 32.8.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 109-104 win Saturday at Utah

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Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

– The Clippers (18-13) found out Saturday morning that Blake Griffin would be out at least two weeks with a partially torn left quad tendon, so make no mistake, this was a good win. Griffin, who sustained his injury Christmas night in the win over the Lakers, will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

– Interestingly, Josh Smith started in Griffin’s place after not playing a second in the previous two games. Smith played all of five minutes, was put on the bench and never returned. He missed both of his field-goal attempts an grabbed two rebounds. He had one turnover.

– Without Griffin – the team’s leading scorer – the Clippers had to get solid games from others in order to emerge victorious. They received them from guards Chris Paul and J.J. Redick. Paul scored 19 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He doled out 11 assists, made two steals and had just one turnover in 36 minutes. Redick scored a team-high 25 points on 8 of 11 from the field – 5 of 7 from 3-point range. That’s not to mention DeAndre Jordan had 14 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. He also made 2 of 3 from the free-throw line.

– Reserves Paul Pierce, Wesley Johnson and Cole Aldrich combined for 37 points on 14 of 25 shooting. Pierce scored 20 on 6 of 11 from the field – 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Considering his shooting struggles this season, that was really big.

– Speaking of shooting issues, Jamal Crawford’s troubles continued. The sixth-man scored seven points, but five of those came from the free-throw line. From the field, he was just 1 of 10. That means Crawford is now shooting 35.7 percent from the field, the lowest since he shot 35.2 percent as a rookie in 2000-01. He is shooting a career-low 30.7 percent from 3-point range.