Bench or Starting Lineup: What's Ideal Spot for J.R. Smith in NY Knicks Lineup?

A decade into his career, J.R. Smith is still waiting on his transition to full-time NBA starter.

Last season brought him his first significant stretch in the starting lineup since the early portion of his career—he started 37 of his 74 games for the New York Knicks under Mike Woodson—and Smith's personal results were impressive. But a week into the 2014-15 campaign under Derek Fisher's coaching staff, it appears Smith has returned to his more familiar bench role. 

After starting the team's first preseason game on Oct. 8, Smith has come off the bench in all of New York's contests, including the first three games of the regular season. He's currently fourth on the Knicks with 24.6 minutes per game. 

But after encouraging results in the starting five to end the 2013-14 season, it'd be reasonable to give Smith a shot at keeping that role this year. 

Plenty of Options

Shooting guard is one of the team's heaviest spots on the depth chart, with Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr. also fighting for minutes. It was easier to fit two of these players in the same lineup in recent years with Carmelo Anthony logging significant minutes at power forward, but with virtually all of Melo's burn coming at the 3 thus far, this may no longer be the case. 

Shumpert has held down the starting role through most of his career with the Knicks—in 141 of his 181 career games—in large part due to his presence on defense, which few of his teammates are capable of presenting. When he's been on the floor over the first three games, New York's defense has improved by 16.8 points per possessions, according to NBA.com (subscription required). 

Though it's still very early, Hardaway Jr. could be the odd man out in the rotation—at least to start things off. He's logged just 33 minutes over the first three games, shooting just 25 percent from downtown. 

The minutes shake-out has been effective so far, but Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes noted last month how playing with the first team would benefit Smith's looks:

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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. ...

With Melo and, in theory, Calderon on the court, Smith won't be a primary ball-handler. He'll still get loads of shots...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.

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Once Jose Calderon returns from injury, which is currently slated to be in mid-November (via ESPN New York), these points would only become more true. Over his nine years in the NBA, averaging 6.8 assists per game, Calderon has become an expert at finding his teammates in spots where they thrive. 

This is crucial for Smith, who is much more effective out of the catch-and-shoot, as opposed to creating his own looks of extended dribbles and one-on-one opportunities. Smith nailed 45.6 percent of his catch-and-shoot jumpers last season, which was the best of any Knick with as many attempts besides Anthony. 

Last season, as a member of the starting five, Smith averaged 16.5 points per game, compared to the 12.5 he averaged as sixth man. His true shooting percentage was roughly two points higher as a starter, even though his usage was higher in those lineups, according to Basketball-Reference. 

"Bad J.R."

But, of course, there's always been the notion that Smith is much too inconsistent a player to be anything more than a role player. 

Particularly in the triangle, his one-dimensionality has hurt him sporadically, often ditching the system's principles and reverting to his customary over-dribbling once the shot clock runs down. 

These adjustments Smith will need to master are things he's acknowledged, and they could be worked out over time. Towards the end of the preseason, he said to reporters, via ESPN New York's Ohm Youngmisuk:

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"Yeah, absolutely," Smith said when asked if he has had to make a conscious effort to play differently. "I mean, believe it or not, being the type of player I've been, it's a struggle. I'm not going to lie.

"Trying to think about the rest of the team over myself or my scoring is something that I never really had to do before," Smith continued. "I've always been in a situation to score, [now I'm] in position to take my time and let the game come and let my teammates succeed more than myself, I think that's the ultimate win."

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But Smith has shown spurts of development in Fisher's triangle, highlighted by his seven-assist performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 30. The 8.3 shots per game he's averaging so far is about five attempts less than the 13.8 he's posted during his Knicks tenure. 

Like Phil Jackson said to Charley Rosen in an interview for ESPN.com, "J.R. has to learn the difference between a good shot and a bad shot. He has to trust that the triangle will create good shots and to avoid searching for his own shot."

It'll take time to break the habits that have plagued Smith over his 10 seasons in the league, but with the right guidance, and with Anthony beside him in the locker room making the same types of adjustments, it's certainly feasible. 

Starting to Make Sense

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

Considering a few new characteristics of Fisher's rotations, the case for inserting Smith into the starting lineup becomes even stronger. 

One new trend Fisher has started is subbing Anthony out in the closing minutes of the first quarter, rather than after the quarter ends, which was Woodson's typical strategy. This is wise not only because it affords Anthony a few extra minutes of rest, but because it opens up the possibility to match competent lineups together even with Anthony off the floor. 

Of Shumpert's 10 most frequent two-man-lineup pairings from last season, it was the one with Smith that produced the second-most efficient results, per Basketball-Reference—10 more points per 100 possessions with 5.7 less turnovers. Of Hardaway's most common three-man lineups from 2013-14, the one that matched him with Smith and Pablo Prigioni, who often also sees minutes at the end of the first or early in the second quarter, was the most efficient.

If Smith is on the floor when Anthony gets subbed off, and his replacement is one of the players he fits best with, it would give the Knicks a better chance at competing on both ends during the minutes where Melo is off the floor.

So while Shumpert has manned the starting role thus far—and done so fairly well—it wouldn't be surprising to see Fisher give J.R. a spin in the starting five, especially once Calderon returns.