Could Jason Smith Start at Power Forward?

Yesterday we took a look at the New York Knicks’ current starting lineup for the past three preseason games. While this lineup has faired well overall, the lack of two way players could be part of the reason the Knicks have gotten off to slow starts the past few games. The shift towards a more defensive minded lineup is a significant change in strategy from past Knick lineups.

One of the few Knick players that can make contributions on both offense and defense is new addition Jason Smith. The power forward has looked very good in his two appearances in the preseason (he missed the first two games for the birth of his child), and more importantly, Smith has looked like a perfect fit in the triangle. Smith’s ability to knock down mid-range jump shots has provided better spacing for New York on offense, which in turn brings better fluidity to the triangle when he is in the game. For these reasons, I had projected Smith to start at power forward back in August.

In Smith’s latest game against the 76ers, the forward was 5-10 from the field for 14 points and 5 rebounds in 24 minutes. The more important statistic with Smith however is that he was +11 for the game, therefore, the Knicks were a better basketball team when he was on the court. Besides a soft touch on the offensive end, Smith provides good hard-nosed defense and is an active rebounder. Derek Fisher had some intriguing words on Friday about Jason Smith.

"“Jason Smith has played some good minutes for us the last couple games since he’s been back, and there’s no reason why he couldn’t maybe crack into that [starting lineup],” Fisher told Ian Begley Friday."

Currently, the Knicks have been starting Quincy Acy in the front court alongside Samuel Dalembert. While the two have been outstanding on the defensive end, both have limited potential with the ball in their hands on offense. If the Knicks are sticking with Iman Shumpert at shooting guard, the starting five will be lacking a true secondary scorer. Of course Jose Calderon is a spectacular shooter and has the potential to hit his open jump shots, but he is not nearly aggressive enough to be relied upon as the go-to-guy after Carmelo Anthony. Calderon is a pass first point guard and that’s really all the Knicks need him to be.

With Shumpert’s offensive inconsistencies, the Knicks will need a more reliable offensive presence to take the pressure off of Anthony. Contrary to last year, Shumpert has looked better on offense this preseason and seems to fit much better in the triangle offense than he did in Mike Woodson‘s iso-offense. If Shumpert can consistently score, leaving Acy in the starting role will be fine, but if he is as inconsistent as last year, something needs to change in the lineup. With Calderon being the defensive liability that he is, it is more important to have a good perimeter defender to help him than it is to have Acy complementing Dalembert. Inserting Jason Smith into the starting lineup allows the Knicks to maintain a good defensive front while adding a dimension on offense.

When the Knicks square off against the Bucks tomorrow night, it will be interesting to see if Derek Fisher rotates Smith in with the starters to see how they mesh. The Knicks have another week to figure out their starting five, and with Andrea Bargnani out (thankfully), it appears to be a two man race at power forward.