Smith's departure isn't responsible for all of this, but it sure helps. Even if he were an angel, his game disrupted the fluidity the Pistons are now exhibiting. The issue is that Smith has almost every ability, except for the ability to properly carry any of them out. He never found confidence or consistency in any of his potential niches and thus kept following the path of least resistance, like taking long jump shots or freelancing on defense.
Even more space is manufactured because while Monroe or Drummond have trouble spacing the floor for each other, both are elite offensive rebounders, which gives their defenders a slight pause when rotating. Otherwise, Chandler would have cut this play off before it began.
But fundamentally, there was a different issue: Smith gravitates toward protecting the rim. He likes to block shots and he's also quite good at preventing easy layups from going down. That's OK if someone else is capable of stepping out on the floor when necessary, but that doesn't describe either Monroe or Drummond. The Pistons needed Smith to focus on guarding his man and rotating into problem areas more than they needed someone else in the paint. Instead, he drifted, freelanced and created more confusion than necessary.
That confusion was a problem when the team's best rim protector is also 21 years old without much NBA experience. Without Smith, Drummond is the undisputed lord of the paint and everyone else is willing and able to go out of their way to keep it that way. Drummond gets to focus on one thing only, and everyone else stays on task. Even Monroe is doing his part, stepping out high on pick and rolls when asked to contain perimeter threats. (This only applies when both share the court. When Drummond is out, Monroe takes his place).
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/1/9/75 ... h-released
and thanks for the link pop
