Mike Woodson Wants JR Smith To Be ‘More Professional’

After his flagrant foul against Leandro Barbosa on Tuesday, JR Smith and Mike Woodson talked about the need for Smith to control his emotions, according to The New York Post: “The NBA and Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson had J.R. Smith’s back Wednesday. It is a nice change for Smith, who has a renegade past with the league and coaches. In getting ejected for a flagrant 2 foul for his takedown of Leandro Barbosa that climaxex the Knicks’ fourth-quarter 112-104 meltdown in Indiana Tuesday, Smith was eligible to be suspended under league bylaws. But not only did Smith get off scot-free, the NBA downgraded his infraction to a flagrant 1. Essentially, he didn’t need to be tossed with 10 seconds left and escorted off the court by Knicks security chief John Donohue. Interim coach Mike Woodson was just as supportive — stern, but supportive — of Smith. Woodson had a 1-on-1 chat with Smith after Wednesday’s practice in full view of reporters. ‘I’m not going to air that,’ Woodson said of his lecture to Smith. ‘My job as head coach is to make sure guys are on the same page and [are being] very professional in how they play. That’s not why I was sitting with J.R. There’s a lot of other things. He just got to be more professional on how he handles things. My job as coach is for him to get there. I don’t want him to get caught up in the moment. [Just ] be a professional basketball player and have fun.'”