Why J.R. Smith Is Critical to NY Knicks’ Continued Success in 2012-13

November 27th, 2012 by Zach Buckley Leave a reply »
It's hard to claim an NBA offense that has averaged the third most points in the league (102.3) and features the league's second most potent player (Carmelo Anthony, 26.3 points per game) has problems.

But a once over of this NY Knicks roster shows Anthony surrounded by a bunch of limited, one-dimensional offensive players. Except for J.R. Smith that is.

The Knicks employ a host of shooters (Steve Novak, Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace), a distributor who scores when needed (Raymond Felton) and a few players collecting paychecks on the defensive end (Tyson Chandler, Ronnie Brewer).

Outside of Anthony, the team lacks a consistent offensive threat capable of shouldering the load on his off nights. Smith has all of the tools to be that dependable second option. He's a legitimate three-point shooter (46.3 percent in 2012-'13) with the handles to break down his defender and the strength and athleticism to finish his drives.

But Smith's career has been marred by an  almost unmatched by his NBA peers.

The 2012-'13 season has been no different.

He began the year by connecting on 46.6 percent of his field-goal attempts and 5 ...

Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
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