The importance of J.R. Smith

Also Mushi I know your stat man....... Melo plays less minutes then Bron and Durantula, yet is still second in scoring I did the math couple of months back and per 48 minutes he's about 6 points ahead of the next best who is Durant.... I know your going to disagree with it in some way shape or form but Melo is the real deal and i don't care what you say..... You can email Spike Lee and tell him how good Reggie Miller is..... You can tell me why JR isn't talented at an NBA level but you aint stopping the Knicks with your JR aint no superstar because of relativity talk!!! 10-0 best in the league!!

Gawd I love you Mushi, Monta Ellis - love Ersan Illyasova - love (Cough) brandon jennings (cough) love Goran threw some hate the way of some guy because he's croation or something i dont really like that he is a good player though really good..... Jeremy Lin - is a money hungry douche but im happy for him even though i hate houston...... Lou Williams is a 6'2 180 guard, JC is a 6'3 190 Guard, JR is 6'6 210....... Your not wrong Mushi your missing the point, I love JR, he's exciting he's talented and down right sometimes he's a super star..... but i seen the 10% games i've seen all the techs, i've seen him make GK go red..... what your missing is his maturity on the floor it can't be put in a stat line.... Thats why i think its a Career year for JR..... maybe not 6th man but he's up there..... IMO 6th man -> Jarrett Jack or Carl Landry

that’s why I said “What is your benchmark for truly being an exceptionally talented player? If it versus the general population then sure he’s a bona fide NBA player so he’s in a tiny fraction of a percent of the population with that ability.” You may not have seen that - it was the second paragraph. But as an NBA player he is not an exceptional one. If we are talking against the normal population well sure, every professional athlete is exceptional so even mentioning it is pretty much superfluous. JR Smith and Lou’s game are not “totally” different. You are wrong if we are speaking english. I know you are a knicks fan and hence prone to outrageous irrational hyperbole but to call two guys who fulfil the same role totally different players simply cause one is taller and a worse passer is a new step forward on the plank of insanity. Do they fulfil their role differently? Slightly, I think Williams is a much better executor of the role as he takes fewer bad shots and is able to get other role players shots whilst still gorging on a me first game. But if you are both fulfilling a similar role it is hard to see how you can be totally different players. Did smith play extremely well last week sure. As a streaky scorer is that much of a shock that given minute he blew up for a week? Not really right. If someone said to me at the start of the season we are going to give JR Smith the green light and 30 minutes a game do you think he’s going to have at least one lights out week the answer would be yes right? Players of the week last year included guys Jeremey Lin, Ersan Ilyasova, Monta ellis, Goran Dragic. Good players who got hot. Doesn't make them Exceptional NBA players. But I’m sure you will say “mushi you’re wrong” and then, as always, provide no evidence to support your claim.

Mushi, he said exceptionally talented player.... Not exceptionally talented NBA superstar, plus your wrong Lou Williams is awesome same with Jamal Crawford.... they're both smaller and different players then JR... Even Crawford came out and said JR is a creator where as im more of a passer. As 6th men Comparable as players totally different. You can like Lou and Jamal and not like JR but JR's game of late (he got Eastern Conference player of the week on Monday) has been superb and he'll be an integral part of the team going into the playoffs.

No your wrong Mushi, when the Knicks are playing well JR's looking to move the ball like the rest of the team. Knicks play well when everyone is rotating on D. What you said is purely based on a stat line.

Mushi, I respect your opinion as much as anyman and in my mind (a melo fan since he said the 2003 draft was rigged (jokingly)) melo is a different player this year. The reality is though the MVP is judged on the impact that player has had on the team during the season. I don't think Melo is number two just like I dont think Lebron (most talented baller of all time as much as I hate him) is number1. In my mind it would be Durant but its not going to come down to numbers. On JR Smith, I completely agree his minutes plus his talents make it seem like a career year however I have watched every Knick game and there are times where JR cant buy a bucket. The difference this year is purely his attitude and his shot selection and more of late his repetoire (going to the basket and using his circus shot ability) in my mind definitely a career year for JR. Also have you seen him on the boards he's an animal.......

Yep a reality check from the guy campaigning for Melo over Durant in the MVP race... What is your benchmark for truly being an exceptionally talented player? If it versus the general population then sure he’s a bona fide NBA player so he’s in a tiny fraction of a percent of the population with that ability. But if you are saying he’s exceptionally talented versus the entire NBA then you can say truly all you want but nothing backs you up. He’s a good player playing reasonably well. He is a good sixth man shot creator type that scores below the league average TS%. Which is a type of player we tend to have big problems lining up highlight reels with contribution. Personally as a sixth man shot creator type I’d take a healthy Lou Williams over him as he’s a better passer and more efficient scorer. I wouldn’t say Lou Williams is an exceptional NBA player. A good one? Yes. An exceptional one? No. Sure he’s had some good scoring games, he’s a shot creator without a conscience, but why focus on just those and not mention the ten games where he’s failed to crack double digits. This is probably why his adjusted +/- comes out at+1 a “good” number but not great number (his unadjusted is 1.63 is also in the good range and for 7th on the team). It’s probably why his win shares per 48 and PER are both good for exactly 45th in the league for guys with more than 2000 minutes. Has he played an important part – sure. Has he been the main reason? I’d still think given Carmelo’s Kobe-esque useage rate and Chandler’s importance to their defence (borne out in adjusted +/-) and easy finishing JR has been the third most “important” guy. Which is probably why this is more a good team (+3.5 avg margin) than an exceptional one.

But he's not actually setting up team mates much more than he has at any other point in his career it's just that he's on the floor more.

What's amazing about JR's improvement is that by simply passing the ball more, he's become a significantly better contributor! The fact that it took him 8yrs in the league to figure out that passing is a good thing, says a lot about him as a player. Hence, why a team relying on JR to be productive on both ends of the floor, is ultimately in trouble. Whatever good Smith gives you on the court, is often undone by the bad...He'll still turn a 3 on 1 fast break into a pull up 3, one too many times for my liking.

On Smith I think it is our pre held perception that he’s a great shot maker that we go he’s been more effective than usual it must be his scorer and yet his shooting efficiency is massive down at TS% of .506 vs a career level of 0.538 in fact he hasn’t been this inefficient scoring the rock since his rookie year. I think his biggest contribution has been as a second creator and, as you alluded to, an improved focus (both on D and handling the ball). Most of the improvements in his stats that make him look better have been minutes and useage based, his assist percentage is fractionally above career but 4th overall and he’s posted better per 48 minute win share numbers 5 times in 9 year career, making this a below average season by that metric. He’s been a good player this year but the only thing that makes his contribution jump out is minutes and plays called for him.

I struggle marrying up your statement that Carmelo is potentially the number 2 MVP candidate and yet you are not a Knicks fan? Maybe if the season has stopped in December but outside of the hot start Melo has reverted to being Melo. A high volume middling to slightly above average efficiency scorer who only breaks even in other aspects of the game despite his physical talents. I don’t think there is a more unforgivable waste of talent in the league right now than Carmleo, because the few times that he has focused in he has lifted his game. But clearly he just wants to Vince Cartering to another notch. The only thing that Carmelo has done better than Durant over the course of the year is not turn the ball over and take shots (not make them just hoist them up like a tennis ball server that someone forgot to turn off). That is it. Shooting, efficient scoring, getting to the line, rebounding, shot blocking, on ball defence, off ball defence, passing all are all in favour of Durant. In some cases the margin is so wide between the two that you almost want to see thw working out. The most glaring is that as scorers looking at the true shooting percentage. Durant’s true shooting percentage is 64% - 8.6 percentage points better than Carmelo who’s only elite contribution is scoring. How can someone be a better MVP candidate when their primary contribution isn’t even in the same vague conversation as another player who does all most everything else better than him.

Smith has great value. When he performs those turn around jumpers it goes down the drain. This guy should be getting to the hoop. Needs more discipline still!