New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith may not be a starter for long. Knicks coach Mike Woodson, meanwhile, questioned his team's effort after their blowout loss on Saturday to Atlanta.
Smith returned from his five-game suspension on Nov. 11, but has been ineffective. In four games, Smith is averaging 9.8 points on 22.6 percent shooting to go along with 5.5 rebounds per game - a far cry from his 18.1 points per game last season that earned him the Sixth Man of the Year award.
His latest effort, going 3-of-18 for seven points against Atlanta, didn't convince Woodson that Smith should remain a starter.
"I'm going to continue to shuffle and do things that I think is right by our team to try to find the right combinations to win," Woodson said on Saturday, via Newsday.
Smith acknowledged his poor start to the season but couldn't pinpoint why.
"I've been playing terrible since I got back and I wasn't happy about it," said Smith. "Honestly, I don't even know [what's wrong]. I've been getting my shots up before and after practice, been working out like I'm supposed to, and I can't transition it into a game. It's frustrating."
Smith isn't the only player Woodson is irritated with. Like Carmelo Anthony did last week, Woodson questioned the team's effort.
"The effort is not where it should be because if it was we would be in a better position than we are right now and we're not," Woodson said on Monday, via the New York Daily News. "We've got to all give better effort. From a coaching standpoint, from a players' standpoint we've got to give more effort.
"I'm not here to teach effort and I think our players understand that I'm a little irritated by that because that's something in the past that we haven't had. Everybody can give effort. Every night that you step out on the floor, practice floor, you've got to be able to give effort and I've got to see that. And right now I'm not seeing it."
