Smith hopes bad back won’t end his season early
Speaking for the first time since a back injury forced him out of six straight games, Dennis Smith Jr. said an MRI uncovered some displaced discs and inflammation but he doesn’t seem concerned about the long-term outlook.
The 21-year-old, who was recouped from Dallas in the trade for Kristaps Porzingis, participated in portions of practice Wednesday and is listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the Raptors.
His availability is contingent on how his back responds to an uptick in activity.
“I don’t know exactly what happened,” Smith said. “I can’t tell you what happened. I just know it wasn’t right, went and got my MRIs and the doctors saw it and they decided I should sit for a little while until I’m healthy.”
Smith is among only five Knicks with fully guaranteed contracts next season, so his development – and health – takes some degree of precedence.
Many questions concerning Smith remain unanswered going into the Knicks’ fateful summer of 2019: Can he be counted on as a point guard of the future? How will his presence shape decisions about point guards in the draft and free agency? Can this back issue be dismissed as minor and irrelevant, or is there a concern about recurrence?
Prior to the injury, Smith averaged 14.6 points and six assists on 41.6% shooting during his 17 games with the Knicks. More than anything, the electrifying dunks and displays of athleticism have been impressive. But he’s unsure how or why his back flamed up.
“I don’t know, man. I’m just playing, man. I’m on the floor and all kind of things happen, so I can’t tell you exactly what it was,” he said. “It might have been an accumulation of things. It happened. It was unfortunate. But I’m working right now to try to get back.”
In Smith’s absence, the Knicks (1460) have leaned heavily on Emmanuel Mudiay while continuing to lose at an alarming rate. Despite the absence of meaning to the remaining seven games of a lost season, Smith said there was no thought of sitting out the remainder of the games.
“I just want to get back out there and play,” he said. “That’s all I’m really worried about right now, getting back out there hooping.”
Smith added that his recovery is following the timeline issued by the doctors following their diagnosis. The fact that he’s already practicing – just about two weeks from his last game – is an encouraging sign.
Frank Ntilikina’s health, on the other hand, is not giving off such a positive vibe. He missed practice again Wednesday with a strained groin and was scheduled for another re-evaluation. He had previously sat 24 consecutive games with the same injury and couldn’t finish two games without a re-aggravation.
There’s a possibility that Ntilikina and Smith – who were taken back-to-back in the 2017 draft (8th and 9th) – will never play together this season. And depending on what happens this summer in the trade market, it’s possible they’re never on the court for the same team.
“I’d like to (play them together),” coach David Fizdale said. “I don’t think it’s the end of the world if it doesn’t happen, but I’d really like to see it. That’s what I was really hopeful for with Frank coming back is once Dennis got healthy, we could take a look at that. So hopefully in the last games here we could get him out there, but if it’s not, it’s not the end of the world. We’ll get him a great summer of work, get him better and get him on the court next year.”