J.R. Smith will start against the Hawks

Here is Mike Woodson's latest attempt to prevent the Knicks from falling behind double digits minutes into a game:

#Knicks starters: Felton, Smith, Shump, Melo, Bargnani

— Jonah Ballow (@jonahballow) November 13, 2013

Starting J.R. Smith for the first time since 2011-2012 after he looked totally out of sorts in his first game would not be my top choice for a new first unit, especially not at the expense of Pablo Prigioni, but we'll see how it goes. All that lineup needs to do is hit open shots, win the turnover/rebound battles, and contain Jeff Teague, and they'll be okay.

As far as containing Teague goes, there is this:

#Knicks head coach Mike Woodson hinted at using some zone D if teams utilize a lot of high pick-and-rolls

— Jonah Ballow (@jonahballow) November 13, 2013

Not sure that first unit can muster a decent zone, so perhaps it'll wait for later lineups.

Meanwhile, Kenyon Martin's grumbling (and Tyson Chandler's injury, and losing a lot) may have overturned the Knicks' plan to limit his minutes:

Woodson said Kenyon will play tonite and hopes to have him again tomorrow vs. Rockets

— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) November 13, 2013

Woodson said he'd talked w Kenyon Martin abt playing both tonight & tomorrow, since tm has bigger opponent (Howard & Asik w HOU) on Thursday

— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) November 13, 2013

Woodson on KMart: "If I can keep him to around 15 tonight, maybe he'll have a little left in tank tomorrow (for Dwight)."

— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) November 13, 2013

Mike Woodson is flailing. I hope he stumbles upon something effective eventually. For now, I'm just happy I can look forward to a new game instead of dwelling on what happened Sunday.