New York Knicks: Success Might Depend On J.R. Smith

J.R. Smith, the shooting guard for the New York Knicks is a polarizing character. You can love him or hate him, respect him as a shooter or see him as a “chucker.” Often you marvel at his offensive prowess only to be let down with silly defensive lapses.

Just when you think he is maturing, images of him at nightclubs or less-than-stellar tweets appear on your timeline.

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Welcome to the life of the New York Knicks.

After floundering at the bottom of the Atlantic Division for much of last season, the Knicks are firmly engaged in rebuilding. This includes their brand, their image and off course their team.

After finishing with a 37-45 record and missing the NBA playoffs, it was clear that something had to change — and the Knicks front office has gone about managing that change as best they can. The goal is clear — to get back to the NBA postseason, take advantage of a weaker Eastern Conference and try to restore some faith and dignity in the franchise and its fans.

The offseason started with a coaching change. In: Derek Fisher, Out: Mike Woodson.

Putting the franchise in the hands of a rookie coach was an interesting move, but with Phil Jackson, even a left of field signing seems “right.” Basketball fans have a lot of faith in Phil Jackson — largely due to his coaching success with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls as well as with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now the Knicks are taking that a step further and hoping his success can translate in the front office. It also makes quite a great deal of sense to get a former player of Jackson’s who he regards highly and who has a very high basketball IQ.

The Zen Master can guide Fisher to install the triangle offense and mold him into “his” type of coach.

In order to make it back to the playoffs though, a coaching change couldn’t be the only move. The Knicks managed to secure the signature of franchise player Carmelo Anthony after a short free agent run where he was courted by a number of other NBA franchises.

This was essential and Anthony obliged. The Knicks then went about drafting (which is ALWAYS an interesting time of year) but more importantly, they actually got it right this year taking talents Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo (brother of Giannis with the Milwaukee Bucks). While Thanasis is a work in progress, Cleanthony should be able to contribute this year in a bench role.

So, the Knicks had their start back, bolstered their stocks with rookie talent and they have a sophomore season to look forward to from Tim Hardaway Jr. – who put together a very good rookie campaign and got better as the season progressed. They also made trade moves, getting rid of Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler in favor of Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert.

Dalembert will defend the paint and Calderon should be the perfect mix of play making and outside shooting that Derek Fisher needs to make the triangle offense work effectively.

Which brings us to the key cog in the “new” New York Knicks machine. J.R. Smith.

If you ask Smith (or follow him on Twitter and Instagram), he is on pace to become “one of the best shooters the game has ever seen.” It is this type of bravado that allows Smith to be a cold-blooded shooter, but it is also the same attitude that worries the franchise.

The success of the Knicks will ultimately come down to which J.R. Smith the New York Knicks see this year. Will it be the focused and determined shooter who can change a game with his long range marksmanship?

Or will it be the ill-advised shot taking “chucker” who laughs at 17 3-point attempts in a game?

In the 2012-13 NBA season, Smith really had a breakout year. He came off the bench and played the sixth man role to perfection.

He shot 42 percent from the field, 76 percent from the line, had career highs in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and scoring (18.1ppg). Last year however, he regressed as his shooting numbers dropped (with the exception of his 3-point shooting) his rebounds dropped and he scored at just 14.5 ppg.

You can see the success of the Knicks during that period too as they made the postseason in 2012-13 but missed in 2013-14.

So while all eyes will be on rookie head coach Derek Fisher and mega-deal Melo, J.R. Smith might just be the most important piece to the puzzle.

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