Five Games After Which George Karl Should Have Told J.R. Smith He Played A Good Game

Yesterday morning J.R. Smith tweeted this: "First time I heard good game in 6yrs from my head coach! This Man gives me confidence!" I love getting yet another bit of confirmation that Mike D'Antoni encourages his offensive weapons with regularity. But we're not here to talk about Mike D'Antoni.

We're here to talk about George Karl.

He never said, "Good game," to J.R. Smith once? Never? Six years goes back to Smith's New Orleans days, so his entire tenure with the Karl-coached Nuggets is encompassed here. And Karl never, not once, told the guy he played a good game? Are we making jokes here? Karl, who seems like a good dude, had literally hundreds of chances to utter these two syllables in Smith's general direction. Such a simple thing to do. And such an important thing to do, especially when we're talking about a player who made "mercurial" a household word.

Sorry if I'm taking the scenic route here. All I'm trying to say is this: George Karl should have told J.R. Smith that he played a good game at least a few times in his five seasons as head coach of J.R. Smith.

In fact, here are five games that would have worked.


1. November 2, 2006; Nuggets 95, Clippers 96
28 MIN, 8-16 FG, 4-11 3P, 1-1 FT, 2 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 3 TO, 21 PTS

This was Smith's first game as a Nugget. He was a 21-year-old kid, starting his third season in the NBA, playing his first game for a new team. I didn't see the game (I don't think I saw any of these games, to be honest), but 21 points on 50 percent shooting in a one-point loss on the road seems like a solid game.

"Good game J.R.!"

2. December 8, 2006; Nuggets 123, Heat 107
34 MIN, 12-18 FG, 7-9 3P, 6-6 FT, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 37 PTS

He led his team in scoring (and did it efficiently) in a win against the defending champs. That's a good game.

"Good game J.R.!"

3. February 22, 2008; Nuggets 121, Bulls 135
33 MIN, 15-25 FG, 8-14 3P, 5-8 FT, 5 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 43 PTS

Yeah, it was a double-digit loss to a "meh" team, but 43 points! That deserves the simplest of compliments!

"Good game J.R.!"

4. October 31, 2008; Nuggets 113, Clippers 103
34 MIN, 7-14 FG, 1-4 3P, 2-2 FT, 10 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 17 PTS

Yes, this was another early season game against the Clippers, but it was also JR's first double-double as a Nugget and only second in his career. Maybe a little positive reinforcement here would have blossomed into some more hustle from Smith in future harvests. Or he could have just said, "Happy Halloween, J.R." Anything would have sufficed; just talk to the guy.

"Good game J.R.!"

5. February 24, 2011; Nuggets 89, Celtics 75
26 MIN, 5-9 FG, 1-2 3P, 1-2 FT, 8 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 12 PTS

This was the second game after the Melo trade, and the first with new house guests Wilson Chandler, Danilo Galinari, et al. Right, Smith didn't have the greatest game, but he contributed in a road win against a very good Boston team. Karl surely encouraged the new guys after their first game, so why not make a point to let Smith know he's appreciated as a guy who's been a loyal Nugget for years. A lot of guys have come and gone, but J.R., you keep contributing, coming off the bench and giving us great energy. I'm far from an NBA head coach, but I imagine little things like this (very easy things like this), go a long way in a long season, particularly when dealing with a player who's as complicated as J.R. seems to be.

Also, it's just nice to be nice to people sometimes.

"Good game J.R.!"