The JR Smith Signing

The New York Knicks have been making news for all of the right reasons lately. They have won 7 of 8 games with Jeremy Lin starting, and the Harvard graduate is the toast of New York City right now. Hopefully, this recent success will be continued with the addition of supreme offensive player Carmelo Anthony, who has the potential to serve as a great counterpoint to Jeremy Lin.

However, I want to turn my attention elsewhere in the Knicks organization, to the recent signing of returning free agent JR Smith. Smith had spent the last few months ripping the Chinese Professional League in half, averaging over 30 ppg and generally showcasing how versatile of a scorer he is. My question is, is Smith a good pick up for the Knicks?

Immediate and resounding YES! The Knicks have a problem at the shooting guard position, mainly the word shooting. Iman Shumpert, Bill Walker, and Toney Douglas just have not been able to consistently knock down 3 pointers. As ESPN on ABC was nice enough to show us, JR Smith is 5^th in entire NBA in 3 pointers made over the last 3 seasons. The kid can hit a 3. And not only an open three, Smith can hit of the dribble, off of a pump fake, catch and shoot, curling off of a screen, or from 30 feet. Any shot imaginable, Smith cant hit. Now, the only problem is that Smith knows he can hit these shots, so he sometimes is a little hasty on the ole trigger finger and can shoot himself out of a game.

However, his above-average defense, ability to get into the paint, very good passing instincts, supreme shooting skills, and overall “New York” type of attitude should serve Earl very well as he continues his NBA career with the Knickerbockers.