Josh Smith Comes Through In Houston Rockets Debut
By Hayden Kane
The Houston Rockets put a lot of pressure on forward Josh Smith in his debut with them. The forward responded in a big way as Houston beat the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the best teams in the NBA.
Camera pans to Stan Van Gundy slowly shaking his head.
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The Detroit Pistons shocked the NBA world when they waived talented but often frustrating forward Josh Smith. When they made that move, they had to know that there was a substantial risk in that Smith might catch on with another team and start looking like a good NBA player again.
With Smith now a member of the Houston Rockets, that possibility is already looking like a reality. Smith played a key role as Houston beat the tough Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. He scored 21 points and made key free throws late as Houston won the game by a final score of 117-111 in overtime.
When asked about the pressure placed on him right away, Josh Smith said that he felt like the Rockets set him up for success from the start. “They think big of my talents., Smith said, as quoted in the Houston Chronicle. “This is a team that instills confidence in all of its players.”
There’s probably no need to create drama if it’s not there, but that quote still feels like a bit of a shot fired at the Pistons.
And the camera pans to Stan Van Gundy, furiously drinking a Diet Pepsi and shaking his head in disgust.
With Smith’s debut in the books, the Rockets are excited to have another talented front-line player while the Pistons are left to figure things out and piece together the rest of their roster.
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