Smith feels right at home
Josh Smith scored a season-high 16 points in just his second game back with the Rockets on Sunday in a 115-104 win over the Mavericks, going from out of the rotation with the Los Angeles Clippers to a key player off the bench.
The Rockets saw this before when they picked him up after he did not mesh with the Detroit Pistons last season.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Josh has had a really good career.
“He had a long run in Atlanta where he was borderline All-Star. So he’s had a lot of success.
“We understand Josh, and his teammates understand him. Josh just wants to hoop. That’s where the problems come in, because if he doesn’t get to play, like any competitor, you want to play and you’ve proven you can play.
“So for us there’s a fit, and Josh and I go back a long way. We have a good understanding of one another.
“And even with Mac (former Rockets coach Kevin McHale), because of Mac’s personality, Josh could thrive with him.”
Smith fit with the Rockets in large part because they would accept an occasional forced 3-pointer.
But Smith said there is also an absence of stress.
“I feel comfortable,” he said. “It might have been a little different story if this were my first time here, but being able to get the opportunity to play for the same team, around the same group of guys is awesome.”
“It’s definitely a comfortable feeling being able to get back. Seeing the appreciation from the fans and my teammates definitely instills confidence that this is where I belong.”