NEW YORK -- Could J.R. Smith, the NBA's reigning Sixth Man Award winner, be spending more time on the bench?

New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson didn't rule out the possibility of cutting Smith's minutes in light of Smith's recent shooting struggles.

"I'll gauge J.R. as we go along and if I feel he's not giving me anything, I could always turn to other guys on that bench," Woodson said Wednesday in an interview on ESPN New York 98.7 FM's "The Stephen A. Smith & Ryan Ruocco Show."

"I feel good about the guys that come in off that bench just like I feel good about J.R. But if he's struggling and I feel the need (that) I've got to pull him, then I will do that as the head coach and then other guys have got to come in and step up and play."

It doesn't appear as if a reduction in Smith's playing time is imminent.

But the fact that Woodson didn't rule out benching Smith indicates how badly the Knicks' sixth man has struggled. He shot 3-for-15 and scored just eight points in Tuesday's Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers after missing 11-of-15 shots in the series opener.

"He's missing shots and he's not playing well from an offensive standpoint," Woodson said of Smith, who is averaging 31.9 minutes per game in the playoffs. "I think he's giving us a lot defensively. And that's why he's staying out there on the floor because he's holding his own defensively and he's rebounding some for us at his position.