Smith Jr. says he’s healing quickly
Dennis Smith Jr., who has reportedly requested a trade from the Knicks, missed his ninth consecutive game Sunday because of a strained oblique.
And while the Knicks have listed him as questionable for nearly two weeks, the point guard said he’s healing better than expected.
“I’m actually healing faster,” Smith Jr. said. “I heard people say with the oblique strain it could be two months or however long, so I’m actually healing along pretty fast. I’m going through the process and working at it every day.”
The 22-year-old said the original injury occurred during a volunteer night training session last month. He then aggravated it by making a crosscourt pass at a Knicks practice a few days later.
“It felt like my ribs had separated on the side,” said Smith Jr., who revealed he underwent an MRI to determine the severity.
Smith Jr. has participated in limited portions of contact at practice and the day-to-day nature of the recovery doesn’t allow for a solid timetable to return. The fear is reaggravating his oblique.
“That’s what it is. It can be aggravated again very easily. That’s how it happened, just playing through it and it got aggravated again. We just don’t want to repeat that,” Smith Jr. said. “We want to get back, hit the ground running. Obviously get back as fast as possible. We want to be cautious with it.”
The ninth overall pick in 2017, who was a centerpiece asset in the trade of Kristaps Porzingis a year ago, has struggled mightily this season while averaging career lows in scoring, minutes and field-goal percentage (all by wide margins). Over the last three months, Smith Jr. has battled severe shooting woes, injuries, questions about his fitness, losing, a coaching change, the death of his step mom and being booed by Knicks fans.
The Knicks are just 6-32 in games Smith Jr. has played. After he was billed as the point guard of the future, Smith Jr. has been relegated to third string behind Elfrid Payton and Frank Ntilikina.
He recently denied a report from The Athletic that he asked for a relocation, but, according to sources, Smith Jr. is “certainly amenable” to a trade and another fresh start.
“I like playing for the Knicks,” he said. “So whatever I’ve got to do, I’m going to take care of that.”
SPO BACKS FIZDALE
If David Fizdale resurfaces on an NBA bench, it’s a good bet that he returns to Miami as an assistant to again work with his good buddy Erik Spoelstra.
In the meantime, though, Spoelstra will continue to be an excellent spokesman for Fizdale. The Heat coach noted Sunday that he has benefited from stability and support from team president Pat Riley and owner Mickey Arison, while Fizdale was thrust into an insecure situation.
“I just think it’s a shame (he was fired). I think it takes a long time to build culture and they hired him for a reason. And it’s not going to happen overnight,” Spoelstra said. “I think he’s just a brilliant basketball mind and teacher of the game. It’s just unfortunate. I look at it all the time and compare it to our situation where we have incredible stability. … It’s a tough indictment on our profession (that so many coaches are fired so quickly).
“I think there’s starting to be a little bit more value in understanding that it’s a long game around the league. You’re seeing more extensions earlier on and somebody, before you get to your final year, you’re starting to see that league-wide. Even Mike Malone got backto-back extensions (with the Nuggets) and he’s doing a tremendous job there. It’s not easy. You need support. You need stability from above. That’s the most important thing, is your ownership and management. And we’re the gold standard in that regard.”
Spoelstra added that he has spoken frequently with Fizdale and the former Knicks coach isn’t too down.
“He’s always a glass-half full guy,” Spoelstra said. “He’ll be fine.”