LOS ANGELES — New Knicks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. doesn’t want the perception he’s a junk-food maven. Obtained in the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster, the 21-year-old from North Carolina State just needed a tweak.
This past week, Smith went food shopping with Erika Whitmore, the Knicks sports dietician. A week ago, coach David Fizdale sat down with Smith after he had benched him for the fourth quarter in the first game out of the All-Star break versus Minnesota.
The deep conversation centered around Smith eating and sleeping better to increase his stamina. Ironically, Smith’s former team, the Mavericks, and the Knicks are considered two of the most fervent franchises in tracking player’s health habits via testing.