On the Knicks’ first possession Saturday night against the Hawks at the Garden, J.R. Smith lofted a short jumper that barely reached the front of the rim. Two minutes later, he missed a driving layup before finally making an 18-foot jumper with 8:53 left in the first quarter.
By then, Smith already had taken two more shots than he did during all of the Friday night’s loss in Boston, where he attempted just one field goal (a miss). But you can hardly call it progress.
Despite a much-needed 111-106 triumph over the Hawks, Smith looked like a lost soul on the bench, where he spent all of the fourth quarter watching rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. close out the game. Smith scored just two points in 24 minutes of action.
“Timmy was playing good basketball, so I decided to go with Timmy and Iman [Shumpert],” coach Mike Woodson said.
Smith didn’t complain. His 1-for-8 shooting didn’t put him in a happy mood despite the Knicks putting together one of their best team efforts of the season.
“I didn’t play the way I wanted to,” he said. “I made some plays for my teammates but couldn’t get it going for myself.”
While the rest of his teammates flourished — Carmelo Anthony had 35 points, Andrea Bargnani had 23 and Hardaway had 13 — Smith remained mired in a shooting slump that is sapping his confidence. He has averaged just 5.6 points a game over his last five games will shooting 25 percent from the field.
“It happens,” Anthony said. “It’s basketball.”
Smith got a rich contract over the offseason because of his instant offense and high-octane jump shot. But he’s a non-factor these days and looks confused about his role while searching for his jump shot.
He sounded silly after Friday night’s loss in Boston when he said: “I took it upon myself to sacrifice my shot to get other guys going.”
Smith sounded as if he were trying to implement his own strategy to help the Knicks develop some type of winning mojo.
That was a no-no with Woodson, who made it clear he doesn’t want Smith to go from scorer to distributer.
“I need him to score, and I think he knows that,” Woodson said before Saturday’s game.
If you didn’t know any better, you’d think Smith has forgotten how to score. He’s hesitant, unsure of himself and quickly passes up shots he once buried.
“As long as I’m out there I’ve got to contribute to the team,” said Smith, who has made just nine of his past 36 field goals. “If I can’t contribute I shouldn’t be out there.”
The real concern is whether Smith ever will get back to the form that made him the NBA’s Sixth Man Award winner last season. He started against the Hawks, but offered no spark.
We’ve been waiting for Smith to have a breakout game since returning from his five-game suspension to start the season. We’ve been waiting to see the player he was during the regular season last year when he lifted his teammates and thrilled the crowd with his offensive exploits. But he hasn’t been that player since throwing an elbow at Jason Terry in the playoffs.
His recovery from offseason knee surgery has taken longer than expected and his jump shot is still in rehab. Smith isn’t sure exactly what the problem is.
“I don’t know honestly,” he said. “I’ve just got to play better. Whether it’s the time off or my knee bothering me either way I’ve still got to play better. I’m getting good minutes. I have nothing to complain about other than myself.”
The Knicks didn’t need Smith against the Hawks, but Woodson said they’ll “desperately” need him to be productive if they’re going to salvage the season.
“I’ve struggled with my shooting before but not to this magnitude,” Smith said. “But it’s just a shooter’s slump. I’ll get out of it one way or another.”
The Knicks only can hope that’s all it is.