J.R. Smith to return from 10-game absence Wednesday

It's a great day to be a New York Knicks fan.

Not only is Andrea Bargnani making his 2014-15 debut on Wednesday, but J.R. Smith will return from a 10-game absence. Smith announced that he had been cleared to play on Instagram earlier in the day, with head coach Derek Fisher confirming his availability closer to gametime.

CAPTION: #GuessWhoGotClearedToPlay!

Smith had been sidelined due to a partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot, a frustrating injury that depends largely on rest and pain tolerance for a return. 

In 21 games before the injury, Smith had struggled scoring with just 10.3 points a game on 41 percent shooting, but he was averaging a career-high 3.3 assists. He had also been ice cold from long range at 32.4 percent, a number that can surely be expected to climb toward his 37-percent career mark as the sample size grows.

It's a good thing the Knicks are playing on New Year's Eve and not New Year's Day, otherwise Smith – a notoriously poor player in day games for reasons that you can figure out for yourself based on his constant late-night tweeting – would probably be missing an 11th consecutive outing.