Washington Wizards: 3 Role Players that will be key for play-in tournament hopes

Washington Wizards that are key to a play-in birth: Ish Smith

The 11-year vet will be crucial to the Wizard’s chances of making it into the play-in tournament. Ish Smith has missed 24 games this year due to a right proximal quadriceps injury, but he’s finally healthy and finding his groove. Ish is coming off one of his best games of the year in a win against the Pistons. He scored 16 points to go along with five assists and three rebounds in the 121-100 victory at home. That’s his highest-scoring performance of the year!

Averaging only 6.3 points per game this season and 7.7 points per game for his career, Ish is known more for his versatility than scoring. He’s a jack of all trades at the backup point guard position and he impacts the game in a variety of different ways. However, his speed in transition is what stands out the most. The Wizards are ranked No.1 in pace (104.0) and point guards Russell Westbrook, Ish Smith, and Raul Neto are a big reason for that!

Westbrook and Ish, in particular, both love to get out on the break for easy baskets. This clip below is just one example as Ish finds Russ leaking out for the fast break slam!

As the main ball-handler of the second unit, Ish needs to continue to play fast because that helps raise the play of everyone around him. He’s been in the NBA for over a decade so the younger players should have no problem following his lead as they look to make up ground in the East.