Here’s Dennis Smith Jr. taking some free throws which bear the troubling artistic influence of Markelle Fultz. The clip comes from a Redditor who claimed to spot the Knicks point guard at school—judging by the banners, it’s the Manhattan private school Avenues—and some credibility is gained from the fact that three different people appear upset that the video is being taken. Can’t blame them.
Smith, who was 64 percent from the line last season and has long had a hitch in his shot, planned to improve his shooting before the coming season. In the highly curated and emoji-rich realm of summer mixtapes, his jumper looks pretty fluid off the dribble. In the context of these free throws, it looks completely borked, and subdivided into distinct eons.
This offseason, Knicks coach David Fizdale put DSJ in the hands of shot doctor Keith Smart, who strongly resembles the man in the white T-shirt rebounding in this upsetting video. Hopefully he wasn’t expensive. (Though if James Dolan’s paying, it’s hard to care.)
[Reddit]