Last season, almost completely out of the blue, the New York Knicks made the move to accommodate J.R. Smith's return to the NBA after playing a season in China.
Little did they know that only a few months later, a player who was expected to be only a short-term fix would turn out to be one of their most important players in the long run.
After making strides in the half-season he played for New York last year, Smith has come out of the gates running in 2012-13, establishing himself once again as one of the league's premier bench players.
But there's something different about Smith this year.
Thanks to the help of head coach Mike Woodson, he has been playing much smarter basketball and is more focused than we've ever seen him.
The results of said changes are a player whose unheralded talent is finally starting to shine through, making him an early front-runner for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
As good as Smith has been, though, don't think for one minute that this is his ceiling. He may be playing the best basketball of his career, but there could be more to come, potentially to the point where you start to conside ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Ciaran Gowan
NY Knicks’ J.R. Smith Can Still Blossom into a Legit NBA Star
December 4th, 2012 by Ciaran Gowan Leave a reply »
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