Suns guard Ish Smith: ‘One thing people can’t take away from us is our chemistry’
Feb 21, 2014, 4:59 AM | Updated: 7:50 am
If ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
That’s the road the Phoenix Suns’ front office ultimately decided to go down during Thursday’s trade deadline, much to the delight of their players.
While individually, the Suns have had plenty of bright spots this season — whether it be the maturation of Goran Dragic’s offensive game, Gerald Green’s three-point production or Miles Plumlee’s growth as an everyday starter — they’re in playoff contention at 32-21 for one reason and one reason alone.
Team chemistry.
It might be overstated at times, especially when a team finds success as Phoenix has so far in 2013-14, yet it’s hard not to notice how much fun the Suns have had collectively this year.
It’s an infectious trait — one general manager Ryan McDonough didn’t seem all that inclined to mess with when push came to shove.
“I am happy [the team didn’t make a move],” Suns back-up point guard Ish Smith told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Burns and Gambo Thursday. “I love every bit of our roster, everybody on our team, our organization, our staff. It’s been tailor made, perfect so far. I guess boss man decided this was the best way to go. We agree with any decision he makes or has made in the past.
“I’m happy with it. We have to continue to keep doing what we’re doing. Obviously, get better at a lot of things and turn it up.”
While the addition of a rumored interior scorer like a Pau Gasol or Brandon Bass might have improved the team in the short term, Smith, who is 3.7 points and 2.3 assists per game this season, noted that it might have altered the personality of the locker room — a wrinkle that’s not always for the better during a stretch run.
“The biggest thing with our team is chemistry,” said Smith. “A lot of people might say, ‘Talent-wise, they’re not here or maybe they are and are just playing out of their minds’ but one thing you can’t take away from us is our chemistry.
“I don’t know how it would have worked [if a player was added]. Obviously, we would have made it work out some way. But like I said, I think the front office decided this was the best way to go. We back up [McDonough] 100 percent.”
