Ish Smith Slowly Revitalizing Philadelphia 76ers' Offense

Ish Smith was recently brought back to the Philadelphia 76ers in an effort to make the team’s offense better. It looks like it’s working.

Philadelphia 76ers’ fans were looking for a gift on Christmas from their team, and it looked like they got it when they traded to bring back former Sixer Ish Smith. Smith also got a lot out of this, as he was moved to the bottom of the New Orleans Pelicans’ rotation due to key players coming back from injury.

Smith, who was playing 30 mintues per game in the first 17 games of the season, was struggling to see the floor most nights, playing just 10 minutes per game in the rest of his games as a Pelican. As a Sixer, he’s already back to starter-level minutes, playing well over 30 minutes per game.

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When asked about the irony of returning to Philadelphia, Smith said, “I’m happy that this kind of thing worked out this way. I’m going to have fun with it.”

Although Smith is happy to be in Philly, and having more playing minutes is certainly a blessing for the NBA nomad, the seasoned NBA veteran who has played on nearly 10 different teams is offering the Sixers a lot as far as offensive boost in just his first few games as a Sixer.

It’s definitely a bit premature to be talking about long-term offensive impact as far as Smith goes, but everyone knows what Smith can do for Philadelphia, since he was here last year. He created tons of plays for center Nerlens Noel, and has done that already this year, averaging 8.3 assists per game in the three games since he came back to Philly.

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Noel has struggled to find a path this season as he’s been forced to play as a power forward, something he’s not too accustomed to doing.

Head coach Brett Brown acknowledged that Noel has had a tough time with the change, but hasn’t had a tough spirit, saying, “Losing has been hard and his progression has been a little bit slow. But his spirit hasn’t wavered at all. He’s fantastic.”

Noel has gone through multiple injuries this year, and was ejected from a game earlier this year, on top of all his scoring woes. But Ish Smith coming back is supposed to help him, as well as rookie center Jahlil Okafor who took Noel’s spot.

Since Smith came back, Noel has averaged 17.3 points per game, a vast improvement over his 9.8 points per game the rest of the season. Okafor has played just a single game with Smith.

The bread and butter of having Smith back is certainly regarding Noel and big men, but Smith has made the entire offense better. In his first game back, the presence of Smith was creating good looks for everyone. Nik Stauskas, who has had immense troubles this season, hit some big shots, and scored 17 points–his highest since November 11th–in the win over the Phoenix Suns. It certainly made Smith look even better since Stauskas hit his open looks–something he hasn’t been able to do all season.

Dec 28, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (1) and Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown speak during a break in action at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Looking at the team as a whole, Smith is doing even more for the team. Just three games into his time in Philly, this may be a bit premature, especially since we have yet to see him play against a really good team or a really good defense, but it can be assumed that these numbers are still better than they would have been without Ish.

In the three games with Ish, the team has scored 104 points per game, an improvement over their 92.5 points per game that they have averaged the rest of this season. On top of that, their offensive rating is 102.5, and their pace is 101.4, both significant improvements over the season average.

The sample size is small. Only 97 minutes have been played with Ish Smith on the floor. But looking at his on/off statsitics, when Smith is on the floor, the offensive rating is up by 8%.

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Smith has a lot of work to do to get this team’s offense out of the dumpster, and it doesn’t all fall on him. It’s clear head coach Brett Brown trusts Smith, and new associate coach Mike D’Antoni is clearly a fan, since he was a big part of bringing Smith to the team in the first place. He’s got the backing of this coaching staff, and he’s got the backing of his teammates. There’s no reason that he shouldn’t be able to be the guard he has been all season and boost this team to even more wins, and make them an even better offense.

Ish Smith Slowly Revitalizing Philadelphia 76ers’ Offense

By Josh Wilson | Dec 31, 2015

Ish Smith was recently brought back to the Philadelphia 76ers in an effort to make the team’s offense better. It looks like it’s working.