With approximately 90 seconds left on the clock last night, the Detroit Pistons trailed the Golden State Warriors by a double digit margin. It was now or never time, and someone had to take a shot. The ball swung from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Brandon Jennings, before he spotted an open Josh Smith just behind the three-point line.
With the shot clock, and game clock, winding down, the ball landed in Smith’s hands and he launched a desperation three. It was an air ball, and the boos rang out around the Palace of Auburn Hills. Almost pleading for mercy, the Pistons’ broadcast team pointed out that he had no choice but to shoot it, and had actually had a great game.
That doesn’t really matter to fans though, and as a player, if you end up typecast as some sort of reckless self-destructive villain like Smith has, there’s no real way back. Before that shot last night, his one and only three-point attempt of the evening, Smith had put together one of the best games he has played in a long time.
Finishing the game with 14 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds, four steals and a block, Smith may have just missed out on a triple-double, but at the same time he reminded many of just how rare a talent he is. How often do you see 6’9″ guys dropping off 12 dimes in a game?
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I suppose the real wonder with Smith is just how effortless passing is for him too. With a variety of finds, it wasn’t as if Smith was just repeatedly dropping the ball off for easy buckets in the lane, he was swinging the ball from one side of the court to the other, regularly finding his man in the perfect spot.
Smith could comfortably have had four or five more assists if his teammates were in flow too. Jennings missed at least a couple, while Caldwell-Pope dropped an easy catch out of bounds wide open in the corner too. As I tweeted at half time in the game, it’s just a pity that Smith’s passes are often distributed amongst a team full of guys who shoot pretty similarly to how he does.
It’s easy to dislike Smith, it’s easy to boo him. He’s got such an incredible level of talent, yet more often than not, he shoots himself and his team in the foot. There can be no arguments that Smith has done this more than almost any other player in the league over the past decade or so, but in Atlanta anyway, his play also won his team a lot of games.
What becomes a problem is when a player is vilified by fans, when clearly they’re trying hard to remedy their struggles. This may not last particularly long, but at the moment, Smith is shooting his lowest number of three-point attempts for five years. He’s also regularly notching up games where he doesn’t even attempt a long ball.
Against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, Smith didn’t try a three once. Just like he wouldn’t have last night, if he had been left with any choice with the clock ticking down against the Warriors.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I’ve never been one for booing players on my own team, because let’s be honest, how is that going help them to come out better in the next game? Smith shouldn’t shoot the ball, we all know that, but instead of ostracizing him when he does, the fans and coaching staff need to support their player.
It would be complete insanity to encourage Smith to keep shooting three-pointers, but he’s an amazing passer, and clearly enjoys that side of the game. So, why isn’t he encouraged to take up greater playmaking responsibility? With his 12 assists last night, Smith only had one turnover, a ratio that would make the league’s best point guards proud.
Sure, Smith’s to blame for much of the reputation he’s earned, but with a record of 3-14 to start this season, Detroit Pistons fans shouldn’t have time to worry about that. If they put the effort of booing, into supporting Smith and all of his teammates, it would seem like a much more productive idea.
Quite simply, the Pistons are terrible right now, and more than ever, they could do with getting the most out of the talents that Josh Smith does have, instead of focusing on what he can’t do.