The seldom sure-shooting forwards hit well enough on Sunday to warrant the question, “What if they shot like this all the time?”
By Joe Manganiello
On Friday, Josh Smith had a bad game – the star forward shot 3 for 13 from the field, and finished with 10 points. He turned things around on Sunday, however, scoring 31 points on 13 of 17 shooting from the field (76.5 percent), and collecting seven rebounds and four assists against the Portland Trailblazers, even besting talk-of-the-town forward LaMarcus Aldridge‘s 27 points.
Ironically, Smith’s game-to-forget was against the Brooklyn Nets, so Smith’s Detroit Pistons still came away with a win, while his night to remember (which included a conservative two 3-point attempts! Atta boy!) was in an overtime loss to a Western Conference contender. When it comes to Josh Smith and the 2013-14 Pistons, nobody knows anything.
Rudy Gay, meanwhile, made his road and home debut for the Sacramento Kings (wearing No. 8 from No. 22) this weekend, and shot 18 for 32 (56 percent) from the field. Sunday’s win against the Houston Rockets was particularly strong for Gay – he scored a game-high 26 points, added five rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block – as he helped close out the 106-91 victory with a dozen fourth-quarter points.
And the best part for the Kings? Two games in and Gay and DeMarcus Cousins haven’t gotten into a fight… yet.
Joe Manganiello (@joemags32) is a staff writer for PickinSplinters.com. He was published in the 2013-14 USA Today Sports College Basketball Preview. He studied journalism and cinema at Oswego State University. Peace, love, recycle and ball.
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