Can newly signed point guard Ish Smith provide any sort of aid for the ailing Oklahoma City Thunder?
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been dealing with a lot of injury trouble so far this season, including both superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Jeremy Lamb and Anthony Morrow have bot missed every game so far this season, and the Thunder saw both Perry Jones and Reggie Jackson struggle with injury issues themselves during last night’s game.
According to a report from Darnell Mayberry, the Thunder will be signing point guard Ish Smith to be their hardship relief and are hoping that he can come through and help them through the injuries.
PG Ish Smith underwent a physical for the Thunder today in OKC and has been pegged as the team's hardship relief. Could be in uniform Friday
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) November 5, 2014
Smith played last season with the Phoenix Suns, and didn’t make too much of an impact. He is a lightning quick guard that can put pressure on defenses due to his speed, but he doesn’t have a great shot from anywhere outside of the paint. Oklahoma City has both Reggie Jackson and Sebastian Telfair currently playing at the point guard position, and Smith is going to have a hard time earning minutes over either one of those guys.
Take a look at Smith’s stats throughout his career:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/5/2014.
While the Thunder went ahead and brought Smith in, he likely won’t end up having a major impact for them. He’ll bring some quickness and playmaking ability, but his offense simply won’t be enough to warrant playing him over Telfair as the backup point guard.
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It never hurts to bring in more depth to the roster, especially with the concern about Jackson’s injury. They can’t afford to lose Jackson or Telfair and only have one healthy point guard on the roster. Smith is a solid depth pickup and will be ready to play if they are forced to call his number at any point in the future.
On a cheap deal that is simply an injury filler, there are quite a few worse players that the Thunder could have signed. Smith is in his prime and can make some plays when he gets minutes. Don’t expect t see him play all that much, but he’ll play solid basketball if the Thunder do give him some playing time.