Detroit Pistons: 3 goals for Ish Smith in 2018-19

1. Maintain his improved 3-point shooting

Last season, Smith shot an improved 34.7 percent from 3-point range. While he’s no marksman, 34 percent makes him a threat that defenses have to honor. This gives him the additional pull to free up space for cutters. In lineups with Blake Griffin, he could pop out for a 3 where Griffin sets him up. Smith’s shooting from 3-point range has often fluctuated throughout his career. Casey’s offense will increase the number of open attempts he has, but he needs to hit them.

If he is able to improve on last season’s mark with increased volume, that would be great. However, as the primary ball-handler to set up others, he doesn’t need to improve a whole lot. He has never been a major scoring threat, and he has always functioned as a more traditional point guard. That won’t change this season, but he still needs to represent a threat to rise up from 3-point range. Otherwise, defenses could sag off of him and ruin the spacing.

He’ll likely hover between 1-2 attempts per game this season, which could be better, but he’s never been a shooter. His lack of size and athleticism make it more difficult for him to get his shot off against bigger defenders at times. Watch out for Smith to make a push for Sixth Man of the Year this season if everything goes the right way. If he continues his development, he’ll make a very good case for himself.