J.R. Smith to New York Knicks: How He Will Affect New York's Chemistry

Everybody wants to be a part of Linsanity, J.R. Smith included.

The former Denver Nugget and New Orleans Hornet is choosing Linsanity over Lob City as he makes his return to American basketball, almost midway through this shortened NBA season. 

Smith, a proven scorer and a fan favorite because of his flashy dunks and long three-pointers, looks like a great pickup for the Knicks. 

But chemistry in the NBA is always a strange beast. 

Getting Smith to fit in with an offense that is already equipped with Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Jeremy Lin and Tyson Chandler, may not be as easy as it looks.

A lot has been said about Anthony’s selfish tendencies and how New York is better off when they’re running the pick and roll with Lin rather than constantly running isolation plays for Anthony.  In this case, however, I believe Anthony's presence will actually help the Knicks when Smith joins the fold.

Carmelo and Smith played side by side for four-and-a-half years in Denver, so Smith is probably more familiar with Melo’s game than anybody else on the Knicks roster. 

Smith is a bit of a reckless shooter and does like to have the ball in his hands, but concerns that he won’t be happy if he doesn’t get the ball enough are overblown. 

As talented as Smith is, he was rarely the focal point of Denver’s offense, and has spent most of his career coming off the bench (only 129 starts in 503 career games).  Smith has been playing in Carmelo’s spotlight for most of his career and during that span, he’s still been very productive (13.7 ppg in 372 games for the Nuggets).

Smith is known for launching three-pointers left and right (4.8 attempts per game lifetime).  That shouldn’t be an issue when he comes to New York, because the Knicks have already been doing that all season.  New York’s 22.5 three-point attempts per game is third most in the NBA, so another four or five long range chucks a game won’t kill them.

A few concerns still exist in adding Smith to a team that’s won seven straight.  Adding two free-shooters, in Anthony and Smith, to the lineup could certainly disrupt what has made the Knicks offense so successful over the past two weeks, under the leadership of Lin.  Although Lin’s most recent performance (13 assists while only attempting six shots) could be a sign that he is ready to take on a smaller role in New York’s offense once Carmelo is healthy.

Lin hasn’t just brought a steady dose of offense to the table: he’s given the Knicks a new found commitment to defense.  A commitment that Smith and Anthony have never shared. 

During Lin’s seven-game explosion, New York has held opponents to 89.7 points per game, nearly five points below their season average (94.1 points allowed).  Smith is one of the laziest defenders in the league.  If he becomes a big part of the Knicks rotation, their defense will suffer.

Lin is a point guard and Anthony is a 3 so Smith’s arrival in New York wouldn’t affect playing time for either player.  Smith, however, could affect how much action Iman Shumpert, Landry Fields and Bill Walker will see. 

All three have played consistent minutes at the 2 this season and each have been steady contributors to the New York offense.  Smith will likely play close to his career average of 23.9 minutes per game, meaning less time for New York’s young core of shooting guards.  For first and second-year guys, experience is the only way to get better and with Smith in tow, Fields, Shumpert and Walker will be getting less of that.

Smith has the potential to be an integral part of the New York offense but Mike D’Antoni will have his hands full finding minutes for everybody.  It all makes for more insanity, excuse me, Linsanity, in the "Big Apple".