Breaking Down NY Knicks' Shooting Guard Position for 2014-15 Season
The New York Knicks go into 2014-15 with a strong shooting guard rotation, having steadily added to the position for the past few years.
With Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr., the Knicks have no shortage of talent at the 2, but the trio need to collectively take the next step if the team is to reach its potential this season.
Let's break down the position, grading last year's performance, what has changed this offseason and what we should expect from the group in 2014-15.
Last Year's Performance
The 2013-14 season was a mixed bag for New York's shooting guards. Hardaway was a pleasant surprise, making the All-Rookie First Team after being drafted at No. 24 overall. Meanwhile, though, Shumpert completely lost his confidence on both ends of the floor, and until very late in the campaign, Smith was playing the worst basketball of his career.
Hardaway struggled to get minutes early on, with Mike Woodson instead deferring to Shumpert, Smith and the occasional lineup with two point guards. Eventually, though, with the rookie shooting 40 percent from deep in the first half of the season, he was given a more significant role in the rotation.
In the second half, Hardaway's three-point shooting dropped to 34 percent, but he raised his scoring per game from 8.2 points to 12.2 points. This can primarily be attributed to a nine-minute increase in playing time per game.
All things considered, Hardaway was the most consistent of the Knicks' shooting guards, but his contributions came almost exclusively on the offensive end as a spot-up shooter.
For Shumpert, 2013-14 was a year to forget. Besides two huge games against the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets in January, he was essentially non-existent.
Shumpert averaged 6.7 points per game on 38 percent shooting for the year, marking the worst statistical season of his three-year career. Even on the defensive end, where Shumpert had previously made a name for himself, he struggled, often making silly mistakes and never shutting players down the way we're used to seeing from him.
For a while, Smith was even worse than Shumpert. Where Shumpert failed to make an impact, Smith was actively making the team worse in the first half, putting his immaturity on full display. He missed the first five games with suspension, had the infamous shoelace incident and even refused to shoot at all against the Boston Celtics after being called out by Woodson for his poor shot selection.
Typically, the Knicks put up with his antics because he's one of the better sixth men in the NBA, but it wasn't even remotely acceptable behavior for a player who shot under 40 percent for most of the season.
Towards the end, we were reminded just how big a talent Smith is, as he averaged 20.9 points on 49 percent shooting in the last 13 games, setting a Knicks record for three-pointers in a game (10) against the Miami Heat along the way.
Overall, the Knicks' shooting guards get a C for their performance last season. Besides Hardaway, they were at the core of the team's struggles and were nowhere near as good as their talent dictates they should have been.
What's Changed?
The Knicks have made no changes at shooting guard going into 2014-15, but moves elsewhere in the organization should have a big impact on their performance.
First of all, the arrival of Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher should help. It's not a coincidence that the Knicks (especially Smith) turned things around a little bit once the Zen Master arrived in March.
There will be struggles with a rookie head coach, but Fisher is known for his leadership ability and should be able to restore Shumpert's confidence. Fisher already appears to have a good relationship with Hardaway from their time together at the NBA Summer League.
On the court, the addition of Jose Calderon and Shane Larkin has bolstered the point guard position, which will have a positive effect on everyone. It gives the 2s a better chance of being found when open and also gives opposing defenses more to worry about in the backcourt.
It's also worth noting that both Shumpert and Smith had knee surgeries going into last season, which undoubtedly had an impact on their performance. They've now had more time to rest and should come into 2014-15 refreshed and at full strength.
For Hardaway, his summer has been more about improvement than recovery. Based on his play in the NBA Summer League, he's a lot bigger and has found ways to be effective offensively outside of just shooting. He was getting to the rim a lot more often and even took a bit of a leadership role as one of the "veterans" of the team.
Previewing 2014-15
As we've established, the Knicks have a lot of talent in their backcourt, and now that they're back at full strength under a new regime, we should see them capitalize on that talent.
We can only expect so much consistency from Smith, but it's worth noting that he has a player option in 2015 and typically steps up in a contract year. He should be seeing this season as an opportunity to earn a pay rise on the open market.
Smith also has a fair amount of momentum behind him after his strong finish to last season and will surely want to impress his new coach and president as he looks to win a starting role.
It's difficult to predict production for a player like Smith, but it wouldn't be particularly surprising for his numbers to get close to where they were during his Sixth Man of the Year Award-winning 2012-13 season.
For Hardaway, we should see some steady improvement as he diversifies his offensive game, finding ways to score from inside as well as beyond the three-point line. We should expect his numbers to increase across the board, but just how much they increase depends on his minutes. At the very least, 12 points a night and 38 percent three-point shooting sounds reasonable.
The biggest question mark at shooting guard is Shumpert. For many, he is New York's marquee prospect, but he has faced a lot of injuries three years into his career and frankly hasn't shown much by way of improvement since his rookie season.
Ideally, the fresh start under Fisher and Jackson will restore Shump's confidence, and he'll re-emerge as one of the league's best young defenders, hit his open shots more often and assert himself more on both ends.
For a while now, it's looked like there would eventually be an odd man out for the Knicks at shooting guard, and this season should bring that to a conclusion.
Hardaway is on the most reasonable contract, has had the least health issues and has already been described as "virtually untouchable" (via ESPN), so he's almost certain to stay long-term.
With the Knicks looking to save as much money as possible for free agency in 2015, they should strongly consider moving Smith or Shumpert at the trade deadline. They will struggle to afford to pay them both and still make a run at the likes of Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol and Paul Millsap.
Shumpert's defensive ability and youth make him favorable to Smith, and if he returns to form this season, you'd have to think he's the player the Knicks will opt to keep. Of course, they will still need Smith to perform so that he either plays himself into a new contract elsewhere or at least has a number of willing suitors for a trade.
This is an important year for the Knicks' shooting guards. The franchise is in a period of transition, and this is no more evident than at shooting guard, where the future of the position will likely be decided based on performances in 2014-15.
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