Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA: 5 Players Whose Slow Starts Are For Real

By Evan Massey

Oct 14, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Gordon (10) passes the ball as Houston Rockets guard Isaiah Canaan (0) defends during the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Gordon (10) passes the ball as Houston Rockets guard Isaiah Canaan (0) defends during the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Oct 8, 2014; Hartford, CT, USA; New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) drives the ball against Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk (41) and guard Evan Turner (11) in the first half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2014; Hartford, CT, USA; New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) drives the ball against Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk (41) and guard Evan Turner (11) in the first half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

4. J.R. Smith, New York Knicks

The New York Knicks were hoping that J.R. Smith could return to his Sixth Man of the Year form, but that hasn’t happened. It’s seeming more and more likely that Smith needs to have a change of scenery in order to get back on track. Even a change of scenery might not end up helping Smith, as his attitude issues have been his main downfall throughout his career.

Smith  has played in three regular season games so far this year, and has averaged just 8.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game. He has shot 40.0 percent from the floor overall and just 28.6 percent from behind the three-point line. There is no question that he has the potential to be a much more lethal scorer and to help take some of that load off of Carmelo Anthony.

It doesn’t appear that the Knicks are going to be able to get him to return to form in Derek Fisher‘s new offense. His attitude hasn’t been as bad just yet, but he is lost in the triangle offense and doesn’t appear to have a good chance at turning things back around.