Could Ish Smith’s grace period be over? The veteran point guards’ magic seems to have worn out and he may no longer be that breath of fresh air that was felt upon his arrival. A much appreciated Christmas gift, Ish electrified the Sixers. A young team like Philadelphia, whose only real veteran that sees the court, Carl Landry, gets only a few minutes per game, welcomed Ish Smith and the experience that he could bring during games. His wisdom, energy, and personality had the team looking completely different. He has the ability to walk down close games and take care of the ball, which was exactly what the Sixers needed. Seven of the Sixers’ eight wins came after Smith’s arrival (though he was injured for one of them), and the national media even began to lighten up on their critiques of Philadelphia. Hey, they even moved up in the ESPN power rankings from number 30 to number 28.
As of late, however, the Christmas present hasn’t been playing like he did when the Sixers first untied the bow and tore off the wrapping paper. The journeyman out of Wake Forest has been attempting far too many shots and not making enough of them. In a 98-92 loss to the Clippers, Ish shot the ball 24 times, and only made seven of them. He went two for six in a loss to the Kings, and one for seven in a loss to the Mavericks. His play in the month of February has been uninspiring overall; he tries to force too many plays that aren’t there and too many near impossible shots. Smith showed some better signs during the teams' loss to the Magic on Tuesday though, scoring 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting to go along with five assists.
At times when he is needed to close out tight games, such as the Clippers or Kings games, he has not been able to do so. Ish's field goal percentage drops from 43 percent in the opening quarter to 37.9 percent in the fourth. Over the last 10 games, he's making just 37.1 percent of his shots. The Sixers are 1-9 in that span. The way he plays dictates how the Sixers perform too, with Smith shooting 51.4 percent this season in wins and 37.3 percent in losses during his time with both Philadelphia and New Orleans.
Ish Smith’s presence is still positive; even when he is not playing very well, the Sixers look leaps and bounds better than they did pre-Smith. Playing on nine different teams in his career, it appears that Ish may have found a home in Philadelphia. He may not be a starter here in future years, but Sam Hinkie might like to keep him around as an excellent backup to help groom a young point guard. The five year veteran remains the best option Philadelphia has currently, and will likely work his way out of this slump. Right now, though, the excitement of the new Christmas gift has worn off a little bit.
Jenna Bonner is a contributor to Sixerdelphia.com
