As the public becomes increasing comfortable with the New York Knicks being a decent team and Jeremy Lin consistently putting up impressive numbers, a new Knicks-related issue has presented itself that no one seems to be able to wrap their foreheads around:

Earl "J.R." Smith III and that hair situation.

After J.R.'s first game as a Knick, against the Dallas Mavericks, questions concerning his hair arose, such as:

• Does he realize what he looks like?
• Does he even know that there's a part in his hair?
• Why did he let a barber ford his Afro and let the oxen die atop his head?

I, for one, expected the unjust backlash to result in a hairstyle change by J.R.'s second game with New York. Thankfully, I was wrong. He was proudly sporting the same 'do Monday night against the New Jersey Nets. Upon seeing this, it became clear that this was no accident, no botched last-minute haircut, no failure to look in the mirror — this was simply J.R. Smith, on the heels of Fashion Week, in the middle of Black History Month, and during his first week as a New Yorker, making a statement.

I love and respect individuality, but my only words of caution for J.R. moving forward is that he might be attempting to make too many statements at once. It might just be too much for the public to handle. I say this, because if you thought it was a simple haircut, you were sadly mistaken. In J.R.'s world, it's so much deeper.