With Stephon Marbury getting all the attention in NBA circles for his candid comments about his soon-to-be-ex-coach Mike D'Antoni and soon-to-be-ex-teammates, J.R. Smith's recent comments about his relationship with George Karl will likely get overlooked.
Not here, though, of course.
According to the Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson, Smith said about his head coach: "We never talk. . .You never want to not even talk to your coach." And a few other notable quotes, as well.
With the Nuggets season going so well thanks to Karl and his players renewed efforts, I can only hope this whole Karl vs. J.R. thing gets resolved soon because it's getting ridiculous.
At the Hornets game last Thursday night, I remember looking at our lineup of Smith, Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin and Nene and saying to my brother: "name another starting five in the league that would be as talented as this one". You really can't.
Karl and Smith both need to put their egos aside and figure this out. Smith just might be that X factor that turns a good season into a potentially magical one. But we'll never know until he and his coach are on the same page, and Smith is getting consistent playing time.
Monday, December 1, 2008
J.R. Smith joins Stephon Marbury in being as candid about his coach as possible...
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28 comments:
nothing new we all knew that was coming
J.R. also had some interesting things to say last night on NBA TV's Gametime show. He really had some good things to say about his and Chauncey's relationship on the floor. Chauncey is able to instruct J.R. in ways that J.R. can really understand.
I also caught an old Marv Albert Show featuring George Karl on NBA TV last week, and one of the more memorable Georgies was his referring to his relations with Ray Allen as possibly the worst thing in his coaching history. God forbid he squashes what Doug Collins referred to as an "electrifying talent" in J.R. Smith.
If coach cannot get past the problems that he has with JR then he is not committed to a winning team. I guess he needs to grow up or go away
ARGH come on the team is going good now, put your differences away!!
It seems like they have the will to do it,so they probably will.
PS: Melo says he will play tomorrow against Raptors, I hope so!!!
I am not really sure JR has an ego, Andrew. It's more like he knows Karl hates him and he isn't going to respect him until Karl show some respect back. At least thats the gist I got from watching the JR Smith interview on NBA TV the other night. JR actually seemed like a pretty down to earth guy to tell you the truth.
JR Smith would be in the starting line up in 80% of the teams. The teams that would not need him are teams like boston with ray allen or kobe on the lakers or D. JONES on the nuggets squad.
I think it's time to rename this blog "fire george karl"
Golgennuget said:
"he knows Karl hates him and he isn't going to respect him until Karl show some respect back"
That is his EGO right there lol. Someone's gotta be the man and step up. I'm sure if JR goes and apologizes and promises more professionalism and maturity, George wont turn him away.
But if in the end we have to choose between JR and GK, you all know my choice.
Oh and thanks for stealing my 'JR is the X-Factor' line Drew! lol
What is it with George Karl? Check his coaching history. He's always acted lke a fricken prima donna with some of his players. Remember Ray Allen in Milwaukee, or Gary Payton in Seattle? It's like he NEEDS to have a running conflict- usually with an extremely talented player! Granted, JR is young, immature, & still growing into becoming a consummate pro. But with CB coming in, now's a great time to give the kid some carrot, & put down the stick! True, we don't have all the facts, but under no circumstances should the 2 of them not be talking. That's just immature, & irresponsible! Karl is the adult & authority figure here. He needs to GROW THE F' UP!
Here is what is on Slamonline.com right now. Kind of interesting. The first quote comes from Karl and the 2nd from JR.
“J.R. is a good-bad player, and we’re trying to take the bad out and magnify the good,'’ Karl said. “For me, there’s, as the game goes on, there’s a lot of ways I can try to win them. And consistency, defense and a positive, good attitude would keep him on the court. But I don’t think he gives us always those three every night we play. Some nights I’ll tolerate his bad and some nights I’m probably going to go someplace else.'’
“We never talk,'’ Smith said. “I wish (the two could). You never want to not even talk to your coach. It’s been like that since I got here… (Karl) and I have been (battling) for a couple of years, but hopefully we’ll kiss and make up soon.'’
I think listenting to Karl talk is one of the more painfull things to do in life. He always has these stupid wierd things he says that don't make sense like "J.R. is a good-bad player, and we’re trying to take the bad out and magnify the good"! Seriously WTF!? What is this supposed to mean? Anyways here are some other comments from slamonline I thought were interesting:
"How can you even look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you’re a good coach when one of your main players acknowledges that he has NO RELATION with you? Isn’t that a huge part of your job description?!"
"Geaorge Karl is a petulent old man with a bad attitude and coaching has passed him by"
"I’ve never met Karl. But, I’ve watched him behave over the years and he just seems unhappy when he’s coaching. Maybe it’s the players, maybe it’s his own life, but he doesn’t seem to take joy in what he’s doing. He looks pained.
And, I’m already on record as saying that I have a problem with coaches who use the media to berate and demean their players."
"End of the Day, Karl is the boss. JR needs to suck it up, improve his bball IQ and do more of the little things (i.e. anything other than jack up 3’s). Guy has tremendous talent thats not being used."
"George Karl would happily sit and talk basketball for hours. He’s a guy who’s given his life to the game. He played for Dean Smith, played for the Spurs, coached the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals and the Sonics to the Finals. Gary Payton gives him a tremendous amount of credit. Call me crazy, but it seems like J.R. would benefit from listening to him, even if he has to be the one to break the ice. If either of them has anything to prove, it’s J.R. What’s he ever done that makes him so special?"
Karl seems extremely immature...of course, he did grow up getting by on his basketball skills, so i guess it shouldn't be that big of a surprise.
At least they're winning. Bottom line!
Bottom line is, we are winning. We could be winning more if J.R was starting AND a little more consistent. I really wish GK would get over this, J.R too, but Karl is the "coach" so he should be the one doing it.
The long and short of it is the nuggets are now a very good team. Good enough to make a run in the playoffs, but the only way we even consider the possibility of a championship is if J.R. is playing significant time. Karl seems content to get 50-55 wins and a second round loss.
J.r. is the x factor, at least give him a chance to be the player that could put the nuggets over the top.
"JR Smith would be in the starting line up in 80% of the teams."
Everyone seems to forget that JR was just a restricted free agent and received NO offers from any of the other 29 NBA teams. Only the Nuggets were silly enough to offer him a contract. If he would be starting for "80%" of the teams, he would have had at least one other offer that would have forced the Nuggets to match. JR is currently the most overrated Nuggets player of all-time. He is super athletic, but just an average NBA player with zero basketball IQ.
"Good enough to make a run in the playoffs, but the only way we even consider the possibility of a championship is if J.R. is playing significant time."
Wow! I would have to say the exact opposite on this one. We need smart players on the floor that make good decisions if we want to win a championship. The less time JR gets, the more of a serious contender the Nuggets are. The more time JR gets, the more the Nuggets are like an And1 team and less like an NBA championship team.
I hate to say it but JR still needs to do the maturing here. I have seen countless times where I've said to myself "that's why JR isn't logging minutes" as he hoisted contested shots with ample time on the shot-clock, or threw a stupid pass, or missed his D assignment.
He's a street-baller at this point... not an NBA stud. Karl (or any coach for that matter) needs to have guys on the court that he can be sure of their brains or that they'll consistently play within themselves and within the system, and nobody here can honestly tell anyone that JR Smith plays sensible system-based basketball 100 or even 80% of the time... 80% max.
Sure I want the kid to light it up for us, and more importantly I want the 'light to come on', but there's situations in the games in which I can totally understand going with AC or someone else aside from his wild erratic ass.
The main reason that JR did not receive other offers this past year, was that the Nuggets publicly stated that they would match any offer he were to get. It would have been a very different situation if he had been unrestricted.
While I don't agree that he would start on 80% of other teams, he should be the Nuggets starter. You're a fool though, if you think that no other teams would be interested, especially as he makes less than $5mil this season.
I am kind of roller-coaster like in my feelings about JR. One minute I love him, the next, he's in my doghouse too. I think it is a reflection of how brilliant and frustrating he can be. I don't fault Karl for choosing not to start him or give him minutes. I do fault Karl for apparently not talking to JR at all. That seems completely unprofessional to me.
I don't know - JR seemed like such a punk when he got to the Nuggets. He seems to have grown up a little, but still makes poor decisions that leave you thinking "what the hell did he do that for?" Until he improves on his consistency, he deserves a spot on the bench, in my opinion. I love to see him play, but someone has got to get it through his head that he needs to play smarter ball.
Karl's Good-bad player comment is bunk. If he were to follow the advice with all of his players then carter would not continue to get the minutes he is getting. For being this smart veteran PG, he sure has some dumb turnovers, and the Nuggs seem to be in complete disarray when AC controls the Offense. It reminds me of the Nuggets from the last 3 years - run the ball up court as fast as possible then take the first shot available good or bad. Plus all the talk of him being a good defender has me scratching my head as I watch him double off his own man only to have that guy get the ball back and hit an open 3. Oh and watching him gamble to try for a steal only to miss and have the rest of the team play defense 4 on 5 (just play solid defense for goodness sakes!)
Carter has been serviceable as a BACK-UP PG, but he should never be on the court when CB is in.
I agree that JR's minutes should suffer when he makes multiple dumb plays, but then that philosophy should ring true with AC, Kleiza, etc.
Plus if playing smart, hard-nosed BBall earns playing time, then why the hell have Balkman's minutes been cut down to nothing?
GK needs to pull his head out of his ass or be sent packing.
The issues with JR will always be consistency, turnovers, and defense. He's still not a great on-ball defender (he tends to stab at the ball rather than containing the opponent). He showed maturity last spring, was rewarded with PT, has digressed this fall, so his minutes have gone down.
To the fellow who doesn't think AC is a great defender, are you sure you aren't talking about Iverson? AC might be undersized, but he's a pittbull and takes extreme pride in his defense. I actually really like how the Nuggets look with Billups matched up against the opponents SG--his shooting, strength and ball-handling are a matchup nightmare.
Will,
I agree that JR has a consistently problem and I think he does need to mature. That being said, a coach can kill a younger player's confidence with his actions. It is not uncommon for a immature player to try to do too much right away if they think they could be pulled out of the game w/o immediate production.
I don't agree with you on AC's defense, he consistently puts himself out of position by going for steals rather than playing solid heads up defense. I have a problem with this because I think he can play this type of good defense, AI had to gamble and go for steals because he couldn't play head-up.
Daunte Jones is twice the defender AC is, that is why I don't have much a problem with him getting the starting nod. I think that AC should only come in the game when CB needs a rest. I actually like him in that role (gives us a bit of a change of pace).
GK is an idiot that needs to be fired. He's going to screw up the chance for this talented roster to go far in the playoffs because of his ego and lack of communication skills (see Seattle, see Milwaukee). He's already been exposed for what he is, a semi-knowledgeable basketball mind who can't relate to his players, and doesn't bother to coach them up. That's why he never plays young players (sorry Weems, but your bench warming days have just started as Nugget), because he doesn't know how to unlock their potential and make them better.
I love JR, but the way they are playing, come on... how can you criticize ANY of the nuggets players, coaches, or management.
This went from being a hopeful #8 seed to a real western conference contender.
This is the best team i've seen since Karl's inagurual 30 games (or so). Be happy with success!
J.R. Smith has just about got to be the most underrated player of all time. In my opinion the guy has Kobe/Lebron potential that isn't being utilized. Teams are stupid enough to not give him offers when he was a free angent and the Nuggets were lucky enough to get him back. J.R. Smith has had significant minutes when he proves himself at the beginning of games, but if he plays bad D and his shot isn't on, count him out. On a side note, Dahntay Jones made a freaking 3 pointer tonight!! I don't care whos the shooting guard when the Nuggetsw win by 40 points.
Hopefully this will be my last post on the subject, before my post name becomes overwhelmingly ironic. This game against the Raptors is a good example of how JR should be played off the bench.
He came in fairly early, and did not shoot particularly well. However, he played a good number of minutes and ended up at 50% from the 3 point line. Granted, a lot of that was in garbage time, but I didn't see any serious defensive lapses, and he even played the point fairly effectively for a few possessions.
I don't think any reasonable person really cares if JR starts (though I think he should, especially as we get close to the playoffs). However if Karl doesn't utilize the talent he has, Nuggets fans have a right to be angry. Yes, even though we are winning.
You know, every time there's an issue here between the coach and one of the players, 95% of the people here go against Karl.
Gimme (and Karl) a break, it's not like he's benching Kobe or anything. Unless you all are watching completely different games than I am, Karl's assessment of JR is dead-on. We've all watched him go 8 for 10 from the arc in one game, and follow it up with 1 for 9 the next. Yeah, Karl makes weird statements like "he's a good-bad player," that's his way of soft-pedaling the truth to the media rather than saying it in a way that's really going to piss off his guys.
Here's the truth: Karl wasn't getting through to some of his players (Melo, JR, maybe a few others). That's on both sides.
Now comes Chauncey and it looks like he's helped whipped the rest of the team into getting with Karl's program in a way Karl never could. And whaddaya know, Karl's program looks like it works, don't it?
Kroenke should be paying Chauncey two salaries - the player's salary he's already getting, as well as whatever they're paying the other assistant coaches.
Who would've thought that a website originally titled firegeorgekarl.com, would tend to have members who predominately side against the coach?
While the players are certainly not blameless, Karl has had public issues with Kenyon, Melo, and JR. That doesn't include players no longer on the team, or earlier teams he coached. At some point you have to look at the common denominator, which is Karl and his inability to relate or communicate with many of his players. Besides designing plays and making lineup decisions (both of which I think Karl is questionable at), what other responsibilities does a head coach have beyond motivating his players.
suppose that you're wrong.
just suppose that jr really does have an attitude problem. that's not a stretch. so, let's suppose that the nuggets got rid of him and he went on to another team that wouldn't address some of jr's weaknesses. they just want a hot hand. so, all jr is is a piece of meat. suppose he doesn't mature and gets passed from on team to another but never changes and doesn't develop as a person or as a player. his play becomes erratic. his conduct off the court is worse. no one holds him accountable. his life is turmoil. he can't control his money. he can't keep a driver's license. the coaches he plays for coaches who are only concerning with winning. they will not hold him accountable.
jr loses.
maybe, just maybe, karl is concerned with jr the player as well as jr the person. maybe he will talk to him when he thinks the time is right. maybe he knows more about jr than we do.
maybe karl wants greatness out of jr. maybe he wants maturity out of jr - in his game and in his personal life. maybe he thinks jr will never mature as a player if he doesn't mature as a person.
maybe that is true and that is why jr has been steadier this year than ever before. just maybe...
i think a coach who will bench a player for his conduct could be on to something. maybe there are things that a larger than winning. maybe like a dead friend in the passenger seat. maybe...
and maybe, just maybe... you are wrong.
George Karl is a scrub. He needs to be fired and they need to bring in someone else. He never calls time outs when they are necessary and they are always called when the damage has been done. J.R. Smith is one of Denver's best players and we will lose him if they keep Karl the scrub.
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