New York Knicks: Starting Shooting Guard Vacancy

On Wednesday, coach Mike Woodson said, “I’m going to let [Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith] fight it out,” in regards to the starting shooting guard position. Woodson reiterated this stance before and after the Knicks’ first preseason game. A game in which, now fully healed, Iman Shumpert shot 7-for-7 — including three 3-pointers– to help his team defeat the Boston Celtics.

The other dog in the race, J.R. Smith, is coming off a career year. Last year, Smith had a career high in points per game, rebounds and minutes per game. These stats later rewarded Smith, as he won the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Coach Woodson is in a tough spot. This race could, ultimately, decide whether Woodson goes with a more modern, smaller lineup or goes the more traditional route with a true power forward, Andrea Bargnani, getting the nod.

Underneath, are a few thoughts and questions that are likely circling Woodson’s head.

Are we a defensive team this year?
Although the Knicks have two dynamic scorers, one of which being the reigning scoring champ, this team, on paper, seems to thrive on the defensive side of the ball. They have two former Defensive Player of the Year award recipients, Tyson Chandler and Metta World Peace. They have a young perimeter player in Shumpert whose defense got him into the NBA and a coach with a defense oriented mind.

But then again, this defense could easily be leveled out by their other players. Anthony, Smith, Raymond Felton and Bargnani are notorious for their lack of defense.

If Woodson takes the defensive approach, look for Shumpert in the starting lineup.

Could we go offensive and hope Shumpert and Bargnani can fill the void on the second unit?
Obviously, being a sixth man entails that a player thrives on the second unit and later in the game, meshes with the team. That is exactly what Smith did. Smith was the go-to scorer for a lackluster second unit and came up big at the end of the game. Smith, not Anthony, led the team with two game-winning shots last year.

Smith was so good on the second unit that if he won the starting job, there would be an extreme amount of pressure placed on the second unit. If Woodson thinks their best chance to win is by scoring and believes Shumpert and Bargnani can hold down the fort on the second unit, look Smith to be a starter.

Can Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith coincide with each other on a permanent basis?
In the 2012-13 season, Anthony averaged 22.2 shots per game. Smith averaged 15.6 shots per game. Which begs the question, if the two were to play together for an extended amount of time, could they coexist? They both would get a taste of their own medicine, as they share the same “a bad shot is better than someone else shooting” mentality. This, potentially, could lead down a bad path or could teach the two a few things.

Smith would, also, be another person Anthony would have to learn mesh with. The Knicks’ have added two new players that will have a big role with the team, World Peace and Bargnani, and Anthony does not have the best record when it comes to that, just look at the Amar’e Stoudemire and Anthony experiment that has yet to yield results.

If Woodson believes the team will go as far as Anthony will take them, look for the familiar hair of Shumpert next to Anthony when the season starts.

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