“I would have been playing golf today,” J.R. Smith said as the Knicks prepared for game 5 against the Boston Celtics. What Smith meant was that the Knicks would have swept the Celtics on Sunday had he not been suspended for elbowing Jason Terry in game 3. Smith wasn’t the only one that felt that way, there was a general consensus that had he played, the “new” J.R. Smith would have provided the offensive help the Knicks needed in their game 4 loss.
So when Smith returned for game 5 at home at Madison Square Garden, naturally everyone assumed the Knicks would close out however that was not the case. The Knicks instead got the “old” J.R. Smith who went cold only hitting 3-14 from the field (his three pointers coming in the final minutes). “It is basketball. You make some you miss some. He made some late… hopefully it gets him back on track”, teammate Kenyon Martin said about Smith after the game.
But will he get back on track? Either way Smith says he’s going to keep shooting. “Regardless of if I miss five or six shots in a row the next seven or eight is going up regardless, Smith continued, “I am a streaky shooter and that is how I get in my rhythm. That is how my teammates want us to play.”
Kenyon Martin had caused some controversy of his own by suggesting the Knicks wear all black for the “Celtics funeral”. The Celtics instead buried the Knicks winning 92-86. “We was going to a funeral man but it looks like we got buried. We’ll take that, it’s all apart of being humble, basketball is a very humble game, Smith said. “I’m done with this black stuff, I’m a superstitious person, imma go back to my routine.” While he may be done with all black, he’s certainly not done putting shots up and as Knicks coach Mike Woodson said, “We need him to score the basketball for us.”
– Shaina Auxilly (@Shay_Marie)
