Keeping J.R. Smith in his place, no matter what

keeping-jr-smith-his-place-no-matter-what

J.R. Smith. nba.com

By Howard Megdal

12:50 pm Oct. 10, 2012

In case anybody was wondering: New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson really doesn't want to start J.R. Smith.

Consider that the Knicks' best option at shooting guard, Iman Shumpert, is out until at least December recovering from knee surgery. Their new backup for Shumpert, Ronnie Brewer, is out at least another week after less significant knee surgery this summer.

What remains on the roster, in terms of shooting guard options, is unclear. James White, with 11 N.B.A. games to his name, has been hobbled this preseason. Jason Kidd is undersized and slow for the position. Mychel Thompson is in camp on a non-guaranteed deal, and is more of a small forward.

And still, despite all that, Woodson doesn't expect to start J.R. Smith on Thursday, when the Knicks open their preseason schedule against the Washington Wizards.

Woodson talked up Smith as a bench contributor after practice on Wedyesday.

“Like I told J.R., if he comes off (the bench), ‘Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. Heck, he can be the best player coming off the bench in the league and perhaps win the Sixth Man Award. Hopefully, that parlays into a lot of wins and getting us to a championship round because at the end of the day that’s what we’re in it for.”

And look, Smith off the bench is a swell idea. He'll give the second unit offense, his shooting-happy ways won't impact Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire as much; it is a fine idea, in the abstract.
But if Smith doesn't start at shooting guard, someone has to. And the dropoff in performance from Smith to a White or a Thompson is likely to be pretty significant.
For now, Smith is saying all the right things, even though his declaration this past weekend that he'd like to start is being pushed aside for the basketball equivalent of no one.
“I would rather be a starter, but it that’s not in my cards. I understand that,” Smith says. “I’ll let it play out. It’s been going on six, seven years coming off the bench. Whether it stays or goes I’m going to be the same person I am and just keep playing.”
But Smith's volatility is worrisome, especially if he sees other Knicks performing poorly at the position he'd like to occupy.
And this time, if Smith comes to the conclusion that he's being disrespected, he'll be right.
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