Let’s try and separate what is essentially your mob-mentality fans who disgraced us in Josh Smith’s return from a real nice effort by our Pistons.

George Blaha made sure to point out that Smith was a great part of our Pistons. He was never any trouble, but since his departure coincided with our winning streak, he’s been an easy target. It’s simply untrue.

Smith came to Detroit when we were struggling. It’s not like any superstar had stopped by in a long time. He provided real swag that no one on the team possessed at the time. Since then, though, he inspired Brandon Jennings, Greg Monroe, and Andre Drummond to blossom, much like an older brother would.

People are complaining about his shot selection – really? An unselfish defender who steals, blocks, boards, posts up, passes, but because his shooting percentage has been poor on jumpers, we boo him? Like he was a clubhouse cancer or something.

In reality, we had too many young guns and not enough minutes, just like Stan Van’s stated, and it wouldn’t have been fair to make Josh sit on the bench. Why do you think he was an immediate target for NBA contenders? Just because we’re doing well doesn’t mean Smith was to blame. Sometimes, a good thing works out. Scary, I know.

We scored 114 points and the Rockets 100. They tried to comeback in the fourth, but Detroit had built too big a lead. D.J. Augustin and Ken Pope each scored 28. It looked like we finally found our motor post-Jennings. Again, it was timing and had nothing to do with Smith in the house.

Now, Palace, I leave you with this: do you think other free agent stars will want to play here under that kind of pressure? We aren’t exactly Miami or Los Angeles, so maybe, just maybe, we should shut the fuck up. Love you, Pistons fans.