After being suspended five games for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy, J.R. Smith was ridiculed by his coach Mike Woodson.
Woodson said Wednesday that Smith needs to "grow up and do the right things" going forward. Woodson was very disappointed in Smith's recent actions, but he will continue to support him and wants to make sure that it won't happen again.
"I'm not going to throw him out to the pasture," Woodson said. "My job is to coach him and make sure something like what happened doesn't happen again. That's what we do as coaches, and I expect his teammates to show him love. But at the end of the day he's got to do the right thing by J.R. and his teammates, and me as a coach and this organization and the fans that support him. I mean, that's what it's all about."
Although Smith has been getting himself into trouble for most of his career, he seemed to have gotten a little more mature last season winning the Sixth Man of the Year award. That is, until he got hit with a one-game suspension in the first round of the playoffs after swinging an elbow at Jason Terry. According to the NY Post Smith shot 29 percent (34 of 117) after returning from the suspension in Game 4.
“I call it pissing the NBA gods off,’’ Smith said. “You make and make a lot of shots and then you mess with the basketball game and the game gets you back and it definitely got me back.”
According to the Associated Press Smith is currently recovering from knee surgery, and does not have a timetable for his return. Once he does return, the five game suspension will take effect and he will miss his first five games.
Woodson believes that Smith is a big contributing factor to the Knicks success, and it is imperative that Smith gets his act together in order for him to perform at the level he needs to perform.