If Ish Smith had scored one more point, just one more point, then all five Pistons starters would have scored twenty or more in this game. When was the last time that happened? I don’t know how to check, and if I did know how to check I still wouldn’t because I’m lazy, but I bet it doesn’t happen very often. Every starting five has, by definition, a “fifth man” who is the least involved in the offense. The fifth man almost never scores twenty, and if he does, it’s because he’s picking up the slack for somebody who thought it would be fun to be the fifth man for one game.
I hope Ish realizes the magnitude of his screwup. I’m betting one of his nine missed shots would have been easily makeable if he had just tried a little bit harder. And he left two points on the court when he missed free-throws on two separate occasions. What a choker. I can’t believe teams continue to give roster spots to this guy when he can’t even join the rest of his starting five in scoring in the twenties.