With Reggie Jackson quite some time away from coming back from an ankle injury, the starting point guard job is up for grabs in the Detroit Pistons lineup. Ish Smith has started in almost every game since Jackson first got injured, but head coach Stan Van Gundy wants to shake things up a little by giving Langston Galloway a starting spot. Smith has played very well when he starts, but Van Gundy said he would like for him to come off the bench to give the second unit more energy.
According to MassLive's Ansar Khan, the coach wants to start Galloway to help with spacing for the starters:
“We're trying to get a balance, so the idea was (Galloway) in the starting lineup for Tobias (Harris) primarily, but also for Avery (Bradley), to get a little more space on the floor, where guys have to play him. That hasn't been as great a running lineup anyway, so a lot of times what we've had is Ish out on the break by himself, so the idea is to get Ish back into the second unit with guys who run a little bit more and try to balance our shooting and our speed.”
Smith has been great as a starter, averaging 12.8 points, 4.9 assists, and 1.1 steals with 44.8 percent shooting from the field in 29.8 minutes per game. But Detroit's bench has struggled lately and Smith is the spark plug that brings life to it. Galloway started last game, but he was not too good; five points, four assists, and two rebounds in 20 minutes. Galloway will probably start for the next couple of games and have a chance to convince Van Gundy he deserves it.
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