Ish Smith, perhaps Stan Van Gundy’s only good free agent signing, had another solid if unspectacular year in Detroit. As a reserve, he was a whirlwind of energy for a bench unit that was top-10 in the league in Net Rating. As a starter, he was in place during the season-sinking 3-11 stretch in January after the Reggie Jackson injury, but before the Blake Griffin trade, when the offense was all Avery Bradley mid-range shots and Tobias Harris spotting up.
Even after the trade for Griffin, Ish was a limiting factor in spacing the floor around Blake Griffin, as defenses did not pay attention to him even as he was shooting a career-high 34.