Why J.R. Smith Should Be in New York Knicks' 2014-15 Starting Lineup

To get the most out of the pivotal first season of the Phil Jackson era, the New York Knicks need to figure out how to control and unleash resident gunner J.R. Smith.

A humble suggestion: Start him.

If you're finished unblowing your mind, note that so far there's no indication the Knicks powers that be are prepared to commit to such a plan.

Per Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com:

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Jackson said Jose Calderon and Sam Dalembert will probably start at point guard and center, respectively. Derek Fisher has said that only Carmelo Anthony has a spot in the starting lineup at this point. He has been observing different lineups in training camp and the preseason. Assuming Fisher is on board with Jackson's idea of starting Calderon and Dalembert, that leaves question marks at shooting guard and power forward.

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Question marks at shooting guard apparently do not worry Smith, who's bullish on the talent at his primary position, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com: "I think there’s not a team in this league that has what we have at the shooting guard spot and I think that’s very unique ... you should look at it as a dynamic trio like people do with running backs in football.”

Nice sentiment, but it's pretty clear Smith should be the team's feature back. Over the summer, he made it seem like that was his goal:

Hey, I get it; there's a strong case for leaving Smith on the second unit. The guy earned his Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2012-13 because he was a potent scoring force off the pine. His game, which features many tough shots and few pangs of conscience, seems ideally suited for the sixth-man role.

He's practically the model for the position.

For all that, there's a stronger argument to be made for his fitness as a first-unit player.

Put most simply, Smith is the Knicks' best shooting guard by a considerable margin, and it makes sense to put the best players on the floor from the opening tip. Smith's player efficiency rating in 2013-14 (a down year for the 29-year-old, by the way) was 14.0, the highest of any guard on the Knicks roster, per Basketball-Reference.com.

His 3.7 win shares were also tops in New York's backcourt.

If we leave the numbers alone for a moment (don't worry, we'll come back), we should next acknowledge that Smith just fits better with the members of the Knicks' starting lineup already identified. In an ideal world, the Knicks should want Smith on the floor with players who can make life easier for him.

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Anthony and Calderon are New York's most dangerous offensive players, which means they'll command most of the defensive attention—attention opponents won't be able to spend on Smith. As the leader of a relatively punchless second unit, Smith has long been the focal point of most opponents' schemes.

Plus, it seems the Knicks are committed to using Anthony as a small forward, which seems like a mistake but is a separate issue. The point is: Playing Melo at the 3 means one of either Andrea Bargnani or Amar'e Stoudemire will start at power forward, and neither of those players can stretch the floor.

And just to head this off at the pass, please refrain from calling Bargs a floor-spacer. Dude shot 27.8 percent from three last year and 30.9 percent the year before. No right-thinking defense views him as a perimeter threat.

Upshot: The Knicks need more shooting in the first unit—shooting Smith is best equipped to provide.

Iman Shumpert connected on just 33.3 percent of his triples last season. Tim Hardaway Jr. made 36.3 percent.

Smith knocked down 39.4 percent of his long-range tries in 2013-14.

The statistical case for Smith-as-starter only gets stronger the deeper we dive:

2013-14	Games	ORtg	TS%	3P%	USG%
J.R. as Starter	37	110	.537	.407	22.6
J.R. as Reserve	37	101	.515	.373	20.7

There's a good reason Smith was so much more effective as a member of the first unit last year. Playing with better talent (which we've already mentioned draws more defensive attention) is a great way to keep Smith from giving in to his more destructive instincts.

With Melo and, in theory, Calderon on the court, Smith won't be a primary ball-handler. He'll still get loads of shots (note his higher usage rate as a starter last year), but they'll be better ones. No more carte blanche to pound the dribble and fling up a 30-footer because no other options presented themselves. No more wild drives to the hole as defenses collapse off hapless teammates.

Instead, Smith can feast on spot-up shots and attack shifting defenses that have to play him honestly.

According to SportVU data provided to NBA.com, Smith was markedly better as a standstill shooter than he was off the dribble last year. He pegged 45.6 percent of his catch-and-shoot tries in 2013-14. Among Knicks who attempted as many such shots, only Melo topped that accuracy rate.

Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images

On pull-up shots, Smith made a woeful, though not surprising, 33 percent.

Summation: Smith can create shots, but he's a lot more accurate when somebody else creates them for him.

If the concern is that the second unit might fall apart without Smith leading it, Shumpert and Hardaway were both better off-the-dribble shooters than Smith last year, per NBA.com. And while neither has the handle or strength to attack the basket as effectively, we shouldn't expect the wheels to fall off without Smith running the show.

Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images

We've seen the numbers and digested the anecdotal evidence for Smith's place in the starting lineup. There's some compelling stuff there.

But if stats and reason don't do it for you, let's get touchy feely and see how that works.

So much of Jackson's influence on the Knicks is about balance, about trusting a system and running an offense that maximizes contributions from everybody. The triangle is supposed to make a team function as a group. That's the whole point.

Leaving Smith to his own devices as a one-man artillery unit off the bench cuts against the spirit of the triangle. It removes the sense of harmony Jackson so values. Making Smith part of a cohesive collective would be a triangle triumph—and perhaps the pressure of not screwing things up for the rest of the starters will keep him in line.

Smith needs to start. It's the Zen thing to do.