The Pistons suspected that life without Reggie Jackson would be challenging. They didn’t expect it would be fatal. Ish Smith and Beno Udrih are proving them right.
Through two games, Smith and Udrih have a cumulative 22 assists against two turnovers and have combined to average 20 points a game while shooting 47 percent.
Small sample size and all of that, but if they can continue at anything approaching that pace for the next 13 to 18 games – the estimate for how many more games Jackson will miss – the Pistons like their chances to do more than merely survive their leading scorer’s absence.