Smith turns to Knick assistant for career assist
Dennis Smith Jr. understood he needed to work. In the first preseason game against the Pistons, he was effective as the first point guard off the bench. Smith Jr. scored twice in the pick-and-roll, hitting a 3-pointer when Detroit went under the screen, then successfully driving to the hoop when the defender went over.
But the second game was a mess. The Pistons adjusted by trapping every pick-and-roll, and Smith Jr. was shaken. His decisions were poor. He didn’t react quickly to the blitz. He held on to the ball and was swarmed. Smith Jr. played 17 minutes, scored two points on 1-of-5 shooting, and the Knicks were outscored by 15 with him on the floor.
The day after, on Monday, the Knicks were off but Smith Jr. went to school with assistant Johnnie Bryant.
“I got to do a better job of seeing the trap early, of course, and then pass the ball, move the ball,” Smith Jr. said. “So me and J.B. came in and got some work in, we worked on how to play against the blitz, so that’s the adjustment. Just watch the film, see what I did wrong and come in and try to get better at it.”
Practice is important but Smith Jr., 22, needs to take steps forward. For too long with the Knicks, he’s been moving backwards. Last season was a wreck weighed down by personal tragedy (his stepmother unexpectedly died), a loss of confidence and a broken jumper.
He’s also in his last season before hitting free agency, teetering dangerously toward unplayable status.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau had successfully boosted the career of a point guard with a similar playing style, overseeing Derrick Rose’s MVP season in Chicago.
But Smith Jr.’s career needs saving, not enhancing. He’s on his fourth head coach in four years, falling from an All-Rookie selection in Dallas to collecting DNPs in New York. He desperately needs a rejuvenated season, and Thibodeau has slated him thus far as the second point guard behind Elfrid Payton.
Thibodeau took some of the blame off Smith Jr. for his performance in the loss to the Detroit
“When you’re the point guard, you’re running the team,” Thibodeau said. “The responsibility is to make sure everybody gets to the right spots. When guys don’t do that, you don’t have the outlets that are necessary to take advantage of what the defense is doing. It really wasn’t just Dennis. It was the rest of his teammates also.”
Bryant, who has worked closely with Dame Lillard and Donovan Mitchell, has made an impression on Smith Jr. He’s hoping it will unlock his game.
“(Bryant’s) just got a wealth of knowledge, on both ends,” Smith Jr. said. “He just understands the game so well and he studies it so much. It’s little things that he’ll show me and I’m just like, I can’t help but smile because I’ve never thought of it like that. I’m like a sponge, I listen to everything he’s saying and I try to put it into the game and be effective with what I’m learning. I’m appreciative, man, he’s always willing to give out game so I listen as much as I can.”