In a curious turn of events, New York Knicks head coach Mike Woodson decided to bench J.R. Smith against the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night after the reigning Sixth Man of the Year played in consecutive games against the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns during the team's five-game winning streak.
Smith was the only Knicks player not to appear in Tuesday night's 108-98 loss, as Jeremy Tyler, Cole Aldrich and the rest of his bench mates all saw minutes in garbage time in the second game of a back-to-back.
According to assistant coach Herb Williams, Smith didn't see any action because the team wanted to take advantage of Tim Hardaway Jr.'s hot play:
However, it's worth noting that after sinking his first four shots from the field, Hardaway Jr. went cold, missed his next six, and finished with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting (2-of-6 from three).
For what it's worth, Woodson refused to comment on the situation after the Knicks loss, according to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News:
While Woodson refused to comment, Smith ha ...
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Article written by Alec Nathan
J.R. Smith Mysteriously Benched by NY Knicks Once Again
January 14th, 2014 by Alec Nathan Leave a reply »
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