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New Orleans Pelicans: Starting Ish Smith A No-Brainer

By Gerald Bourguet

October 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) dribbles the basketball against New Orleans Pelicans guard Ish Smith (4) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 111-95. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
October 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) dribbles the basketball against New Orleans Pelicans guard Ish Smith (4) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 111-95. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Time for an opening night overreaction: Whenever Jrue Holiday‘s fragile health prevents him from playing, Ish Smith needs to be the starting point guard for the New Orleans Pelicans.

In and of itself, that statement is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the Pelicans’ playoff chances, as the team once again finds itself ravaged by injuries. Tyreke Evans — who served admirably as a playmaker last season in Holiday’s absence — would normally be capable of holding down that floor general position, but he’ll be out for another 5-7 weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery.

Holiday, who will be on a strict minutes restriction this season as he tries to return from lower leg surgery, will only be useful in short bursts. Norris Cole, the team’s backup point guard, is dealing with a high ankle sprain. Facing a dearth of backcourt help, the Pelicans started Nate Robinson at point guard Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors.

It went about as well as could be expected, with the 31-year-old Robinson tallying zero points, three assists and five fouls in 19 minutes. Ish Smith, on the other hand, made the most of his opportunity despite joining Robinson in being torched by a firestorm of Stephen Curry step-backs.

In a team-high 38 minutes of action, New Orleans’ backup point guard racked up 17 points, a team-high nine assists and three steals, which were — you guessed it — another team-high. He went 7-for-13 from the floor, made one of his two three-pointers and committed only two turnovers against a very good Warriors defense. He was also a +5 for the game in a 16-point blowout loss.

Again, I’m fully aware that this seems like a major opening night overreaction. But as someone who watched Smith up close during his time with the Phoenix Suns and — for God only knows what reason — has followed him on his journey around the league since then, I can tell you that for the time being, the banged up Pelicans will be in a much better place starting him over a washed up Nate Robinson.

Hell, he might even be a better starting option over Holiday if Jrue looks gimpy in his limited spot minutes. After all, with New Orleans clearly trying to ease Holiday back into the action, Smith could spare him the grind of defending the talented guards of the West and perhaps New Orleans would benefit from Holiday taking on a sixth man role.

Robinson may be the more proven commodity than Smith, but let’s face it: he’s lost a step since tearing his ACL in early 2014 and Casper the Friendly Ghost is a more physical defender. At this point in his career (and pretty much all throughout his career), Robinson is better suited for a backup guard role where he plays some minutes, bears zero responsibility and can launch ill-advised shots at free will.

The starting point guard role — especially for a team with playoff aspirations and a bonafide MVP candidate in Anthony Davis — needs a little more levelheadedness, which is exactly what Ish Smith brought Tuesday night. He’s got a lightning quick first step, he finds open teammates and he defends; it just so happened he looked lost on that end because he was trying to guard the freaking reigning MVP.

Ish Smith may be a poor three-point shooter and a relatively unknown commodity, but he’s the most suitable stopgap at the 1 for the time being. Whenever Jrue Holiday is available and healthy (he will be Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers), he should get the start at the point guard position.

But since he’ll be limited to 15-20 minutes a night, and since his legs are apparently made of glass, and since Tyreke Evans is out for another month or two, and since Norris Cole still isn’t back yet…the Pelicans should be fully endorsing Ish Smith as their starting point guard in the meantime.

Next: NBA Power Rankings: Opening Week

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