NBA Houston Rockets

Josh Smith Better In Sixth Man Role With Houston Rockets

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By @ShaneRantSports

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Getty Images

Josh Smith‘sdebut with the Houston Rockets could not have gone better. The forward put together 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench as the Rockets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime.

Flash forward four games, and it has been a different story. The latest turn of events saw Houston get blown out by the New Orleans Pelicans 111-83. Smith, James Harden and Dwight Howard combined for 31 points in the one-sided effort.

Now, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I did predict that Kevin McHale would install Smith into the starting lineup eventually. I just didn’t think it would be his second game with the team. That being said, McHale needs to move Smith back into the sixth man role as soon as possible.

With Smith in the starting lineup, Houston is 1-3. To make matters worse, in those four games as a starter, he is only averaging 5.3 points and 4.5 rounds, which is much worse than his stellar debut off the bench.

As discussed in perviously, there is a period of chemistry building and learning. Smith is still adjusting to playing along side Howard and Harden. Regardless, though, his experiment as a starter has failed miserably. It seems that McHale rewarded him too early for his successful debut against Memphis, and with Trevor Ariza returning to the starting lineup, there simply isn’t room for the veteran.

A little bit of bench depth never hurt any team and having Smith as a potent sixth option is a dream situation for the Rockets.

Shane Phillips is an NBA Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow Shane on Twitter @ShaneRantSports, “Like” him onFacebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also email Shane at [email protected].

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