We imagine he would have liked to leave Madison Square Garden with a win in his pocket. The close loss of the team’s overtime didn’t stop him Dennis Smith Jr. to sign another solid performance, which ended with his first double double of the season: 14 points at 7/16 on shots and 11 assists.
” Plays well. I’m happy for him, he’s a good guy “, Greets Tom Thibodeau, the last coach the leader met during his absolutely missed visit to New York. With the meeting, the interested party said that he had no particular grudges towards the Knicks who had ended up exchanging him in February 2021 in Detroit.
His time in New York helped him
” They know what I’m made of, they have the recordings from two years ago, when we were training with all these guys. For real, for real. All this stuff is documented. They know what they are Insists the 24-year-old player who rebounded in Portland last season.
The ninth choice of the 2017 Draft even considers that his experience in New York has had a beneficial effect on him. ” It helped me grow as an individual. Without going through what I’ve been through, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I am grateful for all the time I have been here, for better or for worse. I understand that no one has offered me my happiness or my job, so I can’t let anyone steal it from me. I started making the most of every situation I was in. It really prepared me for the situation I’m in now. “
Namely at the Hornets where he uses the injuries of LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier to recover minutes and show himself. After four games he has 13.5 points (52% on shots), 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Dennis Smith Jr. thinks he owes part of his success to Steve Clifford, who he already was ” fan that instills confidence in him.
No question of going abroad
The coach highlights the talent of his summer rookie. ” Although with injuries he is no longer the athlete he was, he is still an excellent athlete, even for this championship. I don’t see him stop at what he’s doing frankly “Judge the coach who also greatly appreciates his defensive investment.
This beginning of rebirth does not make him forget months of hardship. The North Carolina native was only invited by the Hornets at the end of September. ” I told my old agent I wasn’t going overseas. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go to the NFL. I was very serious. I gained a lot of weight. I was going to try “The player reports, but he had no contact with the American football league franchises.
” People were trying to wipe me off the map. There are all these guys much older than me who, whatever their situation, have an opportunity and then another. I know I’m young. I have the time. I have faith in myself “, Shows the player describing a completed NBA course” roller coaster, ups and downs. But I wouldn’t trade it with anyone else’s. It changed me in so many ways, made me who I am and helped me grow. I’m grateful. “
