No. No. No. Not that shot, J.R. Look where you are! No. No. No. Pass it. Stop. Look for Melo. No. What are you, crazy? Why are you even considering—


Yes! Awesome shot. Never doubted you for a second. Fantastic. Way to go, J.R.

This is the J.R. Smith experience. It is a tingly, nervy feeling somewhere between confidence and frustration, between astonishment and comfort. It is a belief that the impossible is possible, that probabilities are just a distraction, and a missed shot is just a prelude to a glory.

J.R. Smith Reuters

Wait. Wait. Wait. J.R. You're six feet behind the three point line. You've missed your last four shots. Why not tr


Brilliant job, J.R. Had total faith in that one from the get-go.

J.R. Smith is a circus for one. He is entertaining. He is unfazed. He will turn hair gray. Watching him will take a year off your life.

And now J.R. Smith is the NBA sixth man of the year.

Smith was the breakout surprise of this New York Knicks season. Smith averaged 18.1 points, the second-highest rate on the team, and 5.3 rebounds. In a season in which the 54-win Knicks were body slammed by injuries—Carmelo Anthony's presumed co-collaborator Amar'e Stoudemire managed just 29 games—Smith elevated his performance, becoming a worrisome wild card for opposing teams. It is impossible to imagine these Knicks without him.

But that's just half of the story. Prizes and stats do not do justice to the J.R. Smith experience. Let us start with the offensive approach. Though Smith improved as a team player this season, he will still pretty much shoot anywhere, anytime. He does not need an invitation. He believes his range extends from the three-point arc to somewhere around Hoboken, N.J. He's impulsive and streaky.

If you're a basketball purist who believes in the best possible shot, you may wish to observe Smith through one hand over your eyes. J.R. Smith doesn't shoot a basketball like he's trying to find the best possible shot. He shoots like he's trying to win the giant stuffed panda at the street fair.

J.R. please, please, please, don't shoot it this time; you have a good defender on you. Take it easy. Slow it down. There's no reason to not dish it off to somebody—


What were we saying? Keep on keeping on, J.R.

Of course, it doesn't always go in. Smith's shot selection got better this season—he's a lot more effective at driving to the basket—but he can still be maddening. By now his coach, Mike Woodson, has what can be called his J.R. Smith face. That's the face Woodson makes whenever Smith launches an absurd shot or needlessly gets into it with an opponent. You know this face. It's the face a Dad makes when he finds his golf clubs strewed all over the backyard.

Smith actually finds the face amusing. Earlier in the season, Smith posted a photo to Instagram of a frustrated Woodson giving Smith the Look during a huddle.

That's the other thing about J.R. Smith. He's got a sense of humor about himself. He does not hide his emotion, his personality, his nocturnal lifestyle. Most professional athletes go out of their way to delete or dilute every truthful or potentially offensive thing about their off-court personalities. Not Smith. He lets his fans inside, and sometimes, lets them too inside. His Twitter feed could be on Cinemax. Smith may be the best sixth man but he is also the MVP of NSFW.

Here's the best part: He gets away with it. He gets away with it because A) he's actually very funny and B) Smith has never represented himself as something he's not. He's the un-phony. What you see is what you get, even if you get more than you'd like to see.

Smith built a better version of himself for this season, confessing to reporters that last season he spent too much time out late and goofing off. He signed a one-year-deal with New York for less money because he wanted to be here, and he had a new maturity and focus. (Mostly.) Smith will now be a free agent, and at 27, the pressure will be on for a career deal. He picked a perfect time to get very hot.

But now there's the postseason. These Knicks have heavy work to do in the playoffs. That Game 1 win versus Boston was a relief but messy. Anthony as always will be the focus of a defense, and pressure will build on Smith to take make good decisions and take good shots.

It's going to be…interesting. With Smith, it always is.

Oh no, not now, you have got to be kidding me, J.R. You're in no position to take a shot right now. Look for the open man. There's plenty of time left on the shot clock—


Way to go, J.R.! We were with you all the way.