New York Knicks need to bench Dennis Smith Jr. for his own good

New York Knicks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. needs to be removed from the rotation for his own good given his current struggles.

Things have not gone well for the New York Knicks thus far in the 2019-20 season. New York has battled in their three games, but have yet to break through, going 0-3 against the San Antonio Spurs, Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics.

They held leads in the second half of all three games, with fourth-quarter leads being held against the Spurs and Nets. However, the team was unable to close out those games, as they crumbled when the game got to crunch time.

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While that was frustrating, there were some positives from the games, such as the performance of rookie RJ Barrett. However, there have been major concerns essentially with everyone else in the backcourt — namely point guard Dennis Smith Jr.

Smith was acquired by the Knicks at last season’s trade deadline from the Dallas Mavericks. He is the only player left in New York from the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster, as Wesley Matthews was waived last season so he could join a contender and DeAndre Jordan signed with the Nets in free agency.

That puts immense pressure on Smith, at least from fans. As the centerpiece of the return for Porzingis, arguably the best player the Knicks have drafted since Patrick Ewing, people hoped Smith would flourish in the Big Apple, but that has yet to happen.

The former North Carolina State product had an up-and-down start to his career in orange and blue. He averaged 14.7 points, but it wasn’t efficient, as he shot 41.3 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from the 3-point line.

The 5.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals were encouraging, however. With a full offseason with the team on deck, there was hope he would get things figured out. That opportunity was ruined when Smith suffered an injury that held him out a majority of training camp.

Behind the 8-ball heading into the regular season and with Elfrid Payton seemingly having the upper hand already, Smith had a challenge ahead of him. Thus far, Smith has not lived up to the challenge.

Smith has been disastrous on the court through three games. He looks lost when he is out on the court, playing listlessly and with zero confidence. Even the rare open-court chances he has received have not resulted in positive results, as Smith has been showing hesitancy and indecision.

Just how bad have things been for Smith and the team when he’s on the court? Tommy Beer shared some cringe-worthy statistics.

To say things have been a struggle for Smith would be an understatement. Fans were booing him during Saturday night’s home opener against the Boston Celtics. At this point, the coaching staff should do the right thing and remove Smith from the rotation.

David Fizdale isn’t helping Smith, or the team, by putting him out there currently. He has zero confidence, isn’t helping the team win and has drawn the ire of the fans already. Removing him from the rotation and letting him work through his issues during practice, out of the public eye, is the smart thing to do.

The point guard position has been a unmitigated disaster thus far, but there are other options that they don’t need to force Smith onto the court. Frank Ntilikina and Payton should be soaking up the minutes along with Barrett, who has been given point guard responsibilities as well.

Fizdale and the coaching staff are doing Smith a disservice right now by playing him. There is something clearly off, so giving him time to figure things out and work through those issues, is what they should do.