Tag Archives: Josh Smith

Doc Rivers won’t say if Josh Smith will play Christmas against Lakers

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Josh Smith

Josh Smith/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Reserve forward/center Josh Smith played just six minutes Saturday at Houston and did not play Monday in the Clippers’ 100-99 loss to Oklahoma City. His first season with the Clippers has been stormy. Assuming he was in it, coach Doc Rivers was asked Wednesday at practice if Smith is out of the doghouse.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Rivers said. “I don’t call it a doghouse, anyway. We’re trying to win games. And I’m just going to keep playing guys I think are best right now to win games for us.”

Rivers couldn’t say if Smith will play on Christmas when the Clippers (16-13) tangle with the Lakers (5-23) at Staples Center.

With Josh Smith on bench, Cole Aldrich plays well for Clippers

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Cole Aldrich

Cole Aldrich/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Coach Doc Rivers wouldn’t go into detail when asked why reserve forward/center Josh Smith did not play Monday, other than, “I just thought Cole (Aldrich) would give us more energy.”

But before the game, Rivers intimated there is at least one player not buying into the Clippers’ program. And since Rivers is not crazy about it when Smith starts jacking up 3-pointers, and since Smith has already had a heated shouting match with an assistant coach as well as a beef with Rivers during a game, one can surmise Smith may be that guy.

Smith played just six minutes in Saturday’s loss at Houston. His DNP on Monday gave Aldrich a chance to get some real minutes – meaning not in garbage time – and he came through. He scored five points, grabbed four rebounds, made three steals and blocked two shots in under 14 minutes.

Blake Griffin praised Aldrich, and in doing so may have taken a shot at Smith without mentioning him by name.

“The way he played with the second unit, setting screen and rolls, he was just out there to do his job,” Griffin said of Aldrich. “I think that is a huge quality for him. That was a prime example of being a star in your role and not trying to reach outside of that.

“He just did what we needed him to do and that was huge.”

Chris Paul liked what he saw from seldom-used Cole Aldrich

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Cole Aldrich

Cole Aldrich/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

Clippers reserve forward Josh Smith did not get into Monday’s 100-99 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Coach Doc Rivers said he just decided to go in a different direction in this game, that he told Smith just that before the game and that Smith “was fine” with it.

We’re not sure about the last part of that, as Smith declined comment afterward. However, his benching did give seldom-used post Cole Aldrich an opportunity to get some minutes during crunch-time and he came through with five points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks in not quite 14 minutes.

Chris Paul liked what he saw from Aldrich.

“Cole is one of those guys that comes in every day and does what he is supposed to do,” said Paul, who scored a team-high 32 points. “When coach called his number, he was ready. I think that is the kind of thing that energizes a team. He plays with the right spirit and he did all the little things tonight.”

Clippers’ Josh Smith believes team moving in ‘the right direction’

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Josh Smith

Josh Smith/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

The Clippers on Friday came close, but it was no cigar in their 115-107 loss at San Antonio. That means the Clippers (16-11) still don’t have a signature win this season. But they are on the rise, reserve forward/center Josh Smith said post-game.

“I like it,” said Smith, who had six points and two blocks. “I mean, it’s progress and it was definitely a playoff atmosphere to the game. Definitely competitive tonight. Pretty sure the people that watched got their money’s worth on just to see two good teams battle it out. There’s no consolation, but from our understanding and looking at the overall gist of the game, we’re heading the right direction.”

The Clippers play at Houston (13-14) on Saturday night at 5.

 

Five things to take from Clippers’ 103-90 victory over Milwaukee

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Josh Smith

Josh Smith/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

– On paper it seems like the Clippers should have blown out the Bucks (10-17), especially since the Bucks were without leading scorer and rebounder Greg Monroe. But the Clippers were coming off a five-game road trip and they did not have DeAndre Jordan from mid-third quarter on after he was ejected for arguing a non-calls, receiving two technical fouls. Monroe also missed the game the previous night in a loss to the Lakers. On Saturday, the Bucks handed the Golden State Warriors their first loss of the season in a game at Milwaukee.

– Nice game by Josh Smith. He scored a season-high 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting – 3 of 3 from 3-point range. He had all eight points in a Clippers’ 8-2 run at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth to extend an eight-point lead to 14 (80-66).

– Paul Pierce scored six points to crack the 26,000-point barrier for his career; he now has 26,004. He is one of 16 players to score at least 26,000. All-time leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387.

– Lance Stephenson is becoming a crowd favorite at Staples Center. His endless energy seems to be one reason why. He had four assists in 18-plus minutes in this one and a couple of them were dazzling. When he came off the court after his first stint, he received a larger applause than the stars when they exited.

– The Clippers shot 48 percent overall. Perhaps more importantly, they shot 52.4 percent (11 of 21) from 3-point range. After having struggled so much from beyond the arc, the Clippers have raised their shooting percentage from there to 34.2. Still, that is only 19th in the league. The Clippers in 2014-15 were third at 37.6 percent.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 105-100 victory at Brooklyn

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Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

  • Yes, the Clippers have won seven of nine with this victory. But the two losses came against Indiana and Chicago, two of the better teams in the East. Of the seven victories, only one came against a team currently over .500 and that was Orlando. But at least the Clippers are winning the games they’re supposed to win.
  • The Clippers continue to have difficulty finding a killer instinct. They were up by 18 points with 10:07 to play against a team that entered 7-15, only to see the Nets get within two points (93-91) with 3:50 to go. Afterward, Chris Paul admitted his team is still having a tough time closing out games.
  • There was some other good news. Paul Pierce, who has been struggling to mightily with his shooting, scored 10 points and made 4 of 6 from the field – 2 of 3 from 3-point range. Even with that, he’s still shooting just 31.3 percent overall, 25.8 percent from 3-point range.His career percentages are 44.7 and 37.0, respectively.
  • The Clippers received some good work from their bench. Aside from what Pierce did, Jamal Crawford had nine points, three assists and two steals; Josh Smith had six points, five rebounds and two steals; and Austin Rivers had six points, three rebounds and two steals.
  • The Clippers average seven steals per game but had 12 in this one. They would seem to suggest they were active on defense. Brooklyn shot 44.3 percent, which isn’t bad. But the Nets shot just 26.3 (5 of 19) percent from beyond the arc and committed 16 turnovers.