JR Smith Dances and Struggles in Season Debut (VIDEO)



The visiting San Antonio Spurs crushed the New York Knicks 120-89 on Sunday, and held JR Smith completely in check during his first day on the job (Smith couldn’t hit a shot to save his life, but the dance routine is already in mid-season form.) Per Newsday: “The Knicks were losing 14-2. The cheers became a full-throated ovation when Smith entered the game at the 7:08 mark. The Garden faithful welcomed back Smith for his first action of the season after he finished serving a five-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. Unfortunately for the Knicks, Smith was rusty, shooting 1-for-9 and scoring five points — all in the second half — in a 120-89 loss to the Spurs. ‘You kind of expected that a little bit,’ coach Mike Woodson said. ‘Young man hasn’t played . . . He struggled a little bit. But the struggles came before J.R. got in the game.’ Smith missed his first six shots before hitting a three-pointer with 9:26 left in the third quarter. ‘I wasn’t rusty at all,’ Smith said. ‘I missed a lot of shots. I didn’t get to the basket like I wanted to. Overall, didn’t have a good game.’ […] Smith, who did not play in the fourth quarter, finished with four turnovers in 20:33. He appeared in only one preseason game after offseason knee surgery. But he refused to cite that as an excuse. ‘It kind of had a lid on the rim today,’ he said.”