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Los Angeles Clippers News: Josh Smith Involved in Locker Room Argument with Assistant Coach

The Los Angeles Clippers are currently under .500, losing seven of their last nine games early in the season; and while it's not about time to push the panic button, it looks like the consecutive defeats are taking its toll.

Recently acquired forward Josh Smith was reportedly involved in an argument with one Clippers assistant coach in the team's locker room, immediately after LA lost another game to Toronto last Sunday. Although there are no exact details as to the cause of the argument, coupled with profane language and shouting, several members of the team attribute the same to the growing frustration of losing.

Reports also came in that the argument actually was heard by several reporters waiting in another room where head coach Doc Rivers was to attend to the post-game press conference.

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Guard J.J. Redick, talking to ESPN, said that the scene that took place inside the locker room was more like "loud noises." He said that players are upset because they're losing. "Things happen during the game, and your frustration level increases or decreases based on the final result. The end result dictates your mindset," he added.

During the press conference, Rivers tried to be as brief as possible in addressing the issue. "It's a locker room after you lose like that; guys are upset. That's about it."

There's actually good reason for the Clippers to be upset. Before losing to the Raptors, they also had a game on their hands against the defending champs Golden State Warriors last week, only to see their huge lead disappear and lose the game in the final quarter. This time, though, they were down 29 to the Raptors at one point while shooting under 40 percent. They also made just seven of their 32 attempts beyond the arc.

Josh Smith, for his part, isn't really helping his team's cause this season. After getting signed last summer for a one-year deal worth the veteran's minimum, the power forward is only averaging almost 5.0 a game in 15 minutes of playing time.

For a team who call themselves a legitimate title contender, they will have to fix what's broken and do it fast. At 6-7 and the fact that they're in the Western Conference, it's just a matter of time before they run out of opportunity to grab a favorable spot in the standings. The season is still young, but if they keep on losing games they're supposed to win, then they likely will be crushed by their conference rivals.

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