Cheers to Ish Smith
A brief post to celebrate his return
We are living in a golden age of seltzer. Think of a fruit-based flavor and someone is probably making a sparking water version of it. You could be forgiven for having trouble deciding between lemon, limón, and limoncello. And then there’s this:
It’s the stuff you used to (and sometimes still can) find at your local sandwich place, or, if you’re me, your parents’ refrigerator from 1992 through present. It’s not flashy. There are no added flavors. But it refreshes, gets the job done, and has been around seemingly for ever. It’s kind of the Ish Smith of beverages.
The deal to bring Kristaps Porzingis to the Wizards has been the main story of the trade deadline in DC. Understandably so. Tommy Shepard made a trade no one was talking about like a magician with a card in his left hand while the rest of the league was watching Sabonis and Simmons in the right hand.
I barely remember Porzingis on the Knicks and it seems like things were rocky in Dallas. What I do know if that I am excited to watch Ish Smith play in DC again.
Travel Light
Like Ishmael in Moby Dick and the Genesis before it, Ish Smith has travelled. If he plays in the game against the Kings tonight, one of the “key stats” about him will likely be that’s he’s been traded to 14 teams over the past 12 years. I like Ish. Looking at his stats, there’s nothing that really pops out on first glance. But the dude is fast. And he has endearing moments that don’t really mean much when averaged over the season. Like his one dunk of the past four years.
There are eight players who were on the team last season and are still on the Wizards now. Of all of the 195 Ish Smith line-ups from last year, there were only seven that consisted of guys still on the team per Cleaning the Glass. This is too small a group to really make much of. These seven line-ups averaged 3.7 possessions, with one line-up (Ish-Neto-Beal-Hachimura-Gill) only getting one possession and turning the ball over. The main thing that stands out looking at Ish’s old Wizards floor time is that Scott Brooks had some truly weird line-ups, like Westbrook-Ish-Neto-Troy Brown Jr.-Robin Lopez (basically four guards and a lumbering hook shot specialist). I imagine Brooks watching game tape of that line-up with a cold White Claw whispering, “but what if it had worked? Not so crazy then, huh?” into the darkness.
Cheers to Ish
I have a few posts half-drafted and have done a little more work on Ish Smith, but I wanted to send this because it’s a fun time to watch the Wizards. Their win over the depleted Nets showed that the young guys should get more playing time. Ish Smith’s speed will hopefully pair well with the current line-up. So, more data stuff is coming in the future, but in the meantime, I created this cocktail in honor of Ish. It uses Cynar, which is not everyone’s favorite and can be kind of hard to find, but this Italian spirit has travelled around the world just like our pal Ish. The cherry and lemon are somewhat optional, but will result in something that tastes kind of like a Coke. It’s fast to make and refreshing to drink.
The Ish Smith
Fill a highball glass (i.e, whatever you typically use for water) with ice.
Add two-ounces of Cynar
Top off with plain seltzer (could be Vintage, Safeway brand, whatever suits your taste)
Take a thin slice of lemon and squeeze the juice into the cup
Optional if you want it a bit sweeter, as nod to Ish’s North Carolina roots (home of Cheerwine), add a maraschino cherry.
Stir. Enjoy.