LAS VEGAS — Point guard Chris Smith has one big supporter on the Knicks in his brother J.R. Smith, but he will need more than that. He will need a good five games in the Las Vegas summer league that began Saturday for the Knicks.
He was off to a good start, one of the bright spots in the Knicks’ 93-77 loss to the Grizzles at UNLV. Smith showed some moves, made 3 of 4 buckets in 10:28 for seven points. He showed a knack to play shooting guard — a position at which the Knicks need depth.
Smith, a 6-foot-1 undrafted rookie out of Louisville, is vying for a spot in October’s training camp and probably will get an invite.
“If I play my cards right, hopefully they’ll be dealt right,’’ Smith said. “I feel like it’s working in my favor but who knows. It’s the NBA. This is my chance. I have five, six games to show it. That’s where I’m going to take it.”
Smith was told before the draft he likely wouldn’t be drafted because of his size. In the summer league, he’ll face a series of first-round picks from the last two drafts.
There’s more first-rounders from the 2011 class than usual because of last year’s lockout which wiped out the Las Vegas summer league.
“That motivated me a lot,’’ Smith said. “All first-round guys will be in the summer league. Guys didn’t have chance to play summer league last year. There’ll be a lot of guys in here with big names. I just got to go out there and take a name.’’
J.R. is close with his brother who paid for his education after the Louisville program took away his scholarship. Chris Smith agreed to it so the program could have more money to recruit more players to add to a depleted roster and the decision ultimately led to a Final Four appearance in March.
“He pretty much paid for me to go to Louisville,’’ Smith said. “I was on scholarship but they took my scholarship back. So we had to start paying again. But my brother was willing to have my back. They asked if I was willing to give it up to get more players. We’re like ‘all right, not a big deal.’ It didn’t bother us much.’’
Smith said his game is similar to J.R. Smith’s although he’s four inches shorter.
“I’m excited, seeing my little brother get a chance to make a team and have an opportunity,’’ said J.R. Smith, who sat on the Knicks bench yesterday. “I think he’s playing well from what I heard and they tell me what he needs to work on.’’
Chris said the Knicks won’t have to worry about his twitter account. His brother has made a name for itself with a lively account that got him fined by the NBA for tweeting a partially naked photo of a woman in his hotel room in Milwaukee.
“I think it shows a lot about his personality but people take it the wrong way,’’ Chris Smith said. “The wrong way has sometimes hurt him.’’
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Swingman James White, who signed a guaranteed contract last week, had just four points but seven assists. White, who played in the Italian League the last two seasons, is known for his dunking but seemed very eager to pass up shots. White said he was getting his wind. He drove in for one dunk attempt but got fouled hard.
“Trust me, I’ll get plenty of dunks in the next two games,’’ said White, who will play just the first three games.
marc.berman@nypost.com