New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale was forced to be on the defensive following his team's third straight loss on Saturday night. New York suffered another heavy defeat on Saturday — this time against the Boston Celtics, 118-95 — and one man in particular that Fizdale had to fend for was the out-of-form Dennis Smith Jr.
Smith was booed by his own fans against the Celtics, as the 21-year-old turned up a goose egg on 0-of-3 shooting, along with just one rebound, an assist, a steal, and two turnovers in 11 minutes off the New York bench. According to coach Fizdale, the jeering isn't going to help, as he has every intention to try and help Smith get out of the funk he is currently in.
“Our fans are passionate. I get it,’’ Fizdale said of the reaction to Smith, via Marc Berman of the New York Post. “The kid is obviously struggling. We’ll look at the situation and continue to adjust. (The fans) know what they like and what they want. It doesn’t do anything to my mindset. I’m going to coach this team.’’
Including tonight, Smith is now 1-of-11 overall in New York's first three games of the season. His 11 minutes played on Saturday was actually his season-high thus far, which is preceded by a four-minute cameo on Friday against the Brooklyn Nets.
To say that Smith has been off to a poor start would be an absolute understatement. Nonetheless, as Fizdale noted, the negativity from the fans is definitely not going to help alleviate this unfortunate situation.
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