Detroit Pistons point guard Ish Smith will be out of commission for a while after suffering an abductor muscle tear in a game earlier this week, the team announced in an official statement on Friday morning.
Smith's injury occurred in the second quarter of Wednesday's matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. He is slated for reassessment in two weeks time.
Update: An MRI revealed that guard Ish Smith has suffered a right adductor muscle tear.
The injury occurred in the second quarter of the Pistons game at Milwaukee on December 5. Smith will be out and reassessed in two weeks.
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) December 7, 2018
The loss of the speedy Smith is a tough blow for the Pistons, as he is an extremely important piece of their backcourt rotation.
In his 22 appearances off the bench this season, the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon has racked up averages of 9.2 points on 41.5 percent shooting from the field (32.9 percent from beyond the arc), 3.0 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per outing. With Smith ruled out, veteran point guard Jose Calderon will likely be called on to serve as the primary backup behind Reggie Jackson. Combo guard Langston Galloway as well as rookies Bruce Brown and Khyri Thomas could also see an uptick in their usage rates.
After rattling off five straight wins, the Pistons (13-9 and 2nd in the Central Division standings) have lost back-to-back games. Their next shot at earning a victory comes on Friday night, when they'll welcome the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers (17-9, 2nd in Atlantic)) to town.
Tip-off inside Little Caesars Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. EST with ESPN having live broadcast coverage.
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