Insider: JR Smith

[kushmir]

now THIS guy?

he's virtually INFAMOUS in 2K circles for his too-high ratings and near-unstoppability. our problem? SIMPLE. he doesn't even start.

actually i'm kidding, Smith doesn't start simply because he plays with AI and Melo. Put him anywhere else in the league where the coach doesn't hate him (i.e Byron Scott) and he plays 30+ minutes a night. Here's the thing: while his potential and talent level is pretty impressive, PRODUCTION trumps ALL that stuff. potential and talent mean little in the face of "putting up numbers" and here are the facts:

JR Smith came off the bench and shot 46% from the field, 71% from the FT line, 40% from 3-pt, dished out 1.7 apg and grabbed 2.1 rpg in 20 minutes. solid numbers no question but nothing that warrants him leaping over defenders (and tall buildings) for 360-degree dunks in traffic and the like.

now if Smith gets traded and averages 26, 5 and 5 we can give him the ratings he has currently...but with those numbers?

NO SIR.

Now should smith be one of the higher-rated bench players and a force in the open court? ABSOLUTELY...but he's one player that too-high ratings and a system that allows a tad too much dunking have elevated to one of the game's Elite players by accident.

until these gameplay issues are resolved a significant ratings DECREASE is probably long overdo.

[Rashidi]

PRODUCTION trumps ALL that stuff. potential and talent mean little in the face of "putting up numbers" and here are the facts:

JR Smith came off the bench and shot 46% from the field, 71% from the FT line, 40% from 3-pt, dished out 1.7 apg and grabbed 2.1 rpg in 20 minutes. solid numbers no question but nothing that warrants him leaping over defenders (and tall buildings) for 360-degree dunks in traffic and the like.

now if Smith gets traded and averages 26, 5 and 5 we can give him the ratings he has currently...but with those numbers?


JR Smith per 36 mins
23.0 pts, 3.9 rebs, 3.2 asts

Allen Iverson per 36 mins
22.8 pts, 2.6 rebs, 6.2 asts

Ben Gordon per 36 mins
18.6 pts, 3.1 rebs, 3.0 asts


Scoring's not his problem. It's everything else.

He is basically a taller Ben Gordon, yet Gordon is regarded as the better player. That will probably change shortly. Let's keep in mind he's that good of a scorer and only 23 years old. The only reason he's a sixth man providing instant offense off the bench is his defense is too atrocious to warrant more PT.

Edit:

Leandro Barbosa per36 mins
19.1 pts, 3.4 rebs, 3.2 asts

Barbosa is an 86 overall.

Edit#2: I posted the wrong per36 mins for Gordon

Gordon per 36 mins
21.0 pts, 3.5 rebs, 3.3 asts, which is eerily similar to Agent Smith

[kushmir]

"Scoring's not his problem. It's everything else."

oh, i totally agree...my problem is just the fact that he's a dominating player in 2K when he isn't in reality.

it makes one wonder how where he'd be now if he'd stayed with the Hornets. (or decided to move his feet on defense every other possession or so)

knocking down open jumpshots and finishing semi-consistently i dont have a problem with...its the dunks in traffic and Kobe/Lebron comparisons i think are BAD.

[XxDaFranchisexX]

I hung 46 on the Suns online with JR

[skillz44]

JR never goes insane against me on 2k9.
You guys must suck at D.

[Crowned]

u guys cry too much
jr smith is a beast.
r u mad cause he does shoot the 3 very well and he also is a dunk arteeeest?
go cry about someone like james posey overrated self, not a 80 overall guy who has the talent to jump and dunk ova most players in the nba... ie youtube him

[Nuggz23]

Dude although he might not put up 30 a game, the ratings they gave him are accurate to his sill level i.e 96 in 3's. He's a dead eye from 3, 99 dunking-obviously an amazing dunker etc. His rating is find, it's just people who choose to abuse those attributes that can ruin the game, but that doesnt mean they should decrease his ratings...

[illsmak]

lol dude with a nugget icon saying 99 dunking and 96 three is warranted.

mhm.

-Smak

[Xboxing2006]

Based on his stats he should not have a 96 in 3s. He barely shot over 40% from 3P once in his career. Anything over 95 should be reserved for players who consistently make over 42% from three and take a lot of them. Per-min is a stat that must be kept in perspective. He is asked to be a spark plug against the second unit or starters that have already had to contend with AI and Melo. Any good scorer is going to put up points in that roll. Also his dunk rating is ridiculous. A 99?? Lol come on save the 99s for mayyybe Josh Smith and a young VC. A 99 allows a player to do fancy dunks on people. Smith has some fancy dunks, and he dunks on people but he doesn't do fancy dunks on people. Clyde Drexler dunked from the doted line on people. Shawn Kemp did a 360 dunk on someone, Dominique Wilkins cocked it back on people Jordan windmilled on people pretty often. Give them 99s. Dont give JR Smith a 99 thats just ridiculous.

[jdiddy_ub]

uhhh...JR Smith having a 99 (might be a tad high) but understandable...dude this guy can jump out of the gym...a 99 dunk rating has nothing to do with "dunking on people" sure it helps add to a highlight reel but that doesnt mean that people dont constantly dunk on people shouldnt have a 99 dunk rating...its a rating that should be based solely on ability..and JR smith is arguably as exciting as other dunker in the league...just check out his clips and dunk contest dunks

[rocboyz101]

u guys cry too much
jr smith is a beast.
r u mad cause he does shoot the 3 very well and he also is a dunk arteeeest?
go cry about someone like james posey overrated self, not a 80 overall guy who has the talent to jump and dunk ova most players in the nba... ie youtube him

thank you. all these bum whiners can go suck on something.:rotfl:
jr is really good man. the game is smart enough to notice that he is a beast.

[rocboyz101]

and yalls D must be horrible because he doesnt kill my teams

[Xboxing2006]

uhhh...JR Smith having a 99 (might be a tad high) but understandable...dude this guy can jump out of the gym...a 99 dunk rating has nothing to do with "dunking on people" sure it helps add to a highlight reel but that doesnt mean that people dont constantly dunk on people shouldnt have a 99 dunk rating...its a rating that should be based solely on ability..and JR smith is arguably as exciting as other dunker in the league...just check out his clips and dunk contest dunks

It has everything to do with dunking on people because it influences how often a player does the fancy dunks from their package and these dunks are harder to defend. Its easier to dunk on people with those dunks. Also if you are going to base the dunk rating on dunk contest David Lee and Nate Robinson deserve 99s. They were both more impresive in the contest.

[Hotobu]

I'm also going to have to say that JR Smith deserves a 99 rating. The dude can, and would probably be balsy enough to try and dunk on King Kong. When JR smith gets the ball he's looking to do 1 of two things. Shoot the 3 or dunk, and when he elevates it's electric.

As for his 3 pt rating yes it's too high. First of all for those taking career numbers into account; don't. All of NBA2K9's numbers are based off of last season only. I can prove this with Anthony Carter's 3pt rating. Last season he had the best 3pt shooting season of his life and his stats show this. Same thing with Carmelo.

What should it be? Well I throw out Steve Nash's 47% (who if ANYONE should be a 99 it should be this guy) because it's a statistical anomoly. If I say that Peja with his 44% and 99 is the NBA standard then the proportion works out that JR smith should be a 91 (Rounding up from 90.6)

[Introcollapse]

Kapono should be 99 3pt, lol.

[jdiddy_ub]

i didnt say that you BASE the ratings solely on dunk contests...but lets be serious...JR smith can throw it down on anyone...and think about this..if you saw JR smith in a break away situation would you expect something crazy out of him? my answer is yes...why you ask? cause we ALL know that dude can sky...and as for nate robinson...one could argue that for what he can could at 5 foot nothing...he also deserves a 99...just to be clear...i said a 99 might be a little high..but surely understandable

[Introcollapse]

and as for nate robinson...one could argue that for what he can could at 5 foot nothing...he also deserves a 99...

The ratings aren't subjective. They're objective. Accept that.

[xwashableclothx]

JR Smith is a beast, plain and simple, if he didnt have AI and Carmelo on his team he would easily be an allstar, if anything he is underrated because of AI and Carmelo

[bigherm]

hes a bum IRL , his ratings should reflect that

[Xboxing2006]

JR Smith is a beast, plain and simple, if he didnt have AI and Carmelo on his team he would easily be an allstar, if anything he is underrated because of AI and Carmelo

Do you watch any Nuggets games? The opportunity for a third scorer (especially a catch and shoot guy with range) is there because of AI and Carmelo. An allstar would have that team in WCF or at least close. JR Smith is helped by having AI and Melo. If he was the main guy the defense had to stop he would be less effective not more.

[Hotobu]

I'll take that a step further and mention that he's a ****ing gun. There's more to basketball than scoring points. JR is a flow stopper. When he gets the ball he has a way of syphoning the energy from your offense. Sure he'll do some amazing ****, but sometimes it's ill conceived.

You have to account for guys like Linus Kleiza, and Eduardo Najara who would be open on the floor, wide open and he doesn't hit them because all he can see is the basket. That does two things. If he misses, he just blew a better opportunity. It also affects their defense. Guys like that know they aren't going to get the ball much, but they're catch and shoot guys. When they don't get it in situations that they should it can affect their defense. Haven't you ever noticed that when a guy hits a big shot they're always the most energetic getting back on D? It also can deflate them a little bit so when the ball does get back around to them they're head isn't as in the game that it should be.

If you've actually been able to play a 5 on 5 game this effect should be familiar. If you've ever had a spot up shooter, and don't get the ball you start to get a little angsty, and when it actually does come to you you're all "oh **** I got the ball" and sometimes you end up doing something stupid because you finally got your chance.

That's not to say I don't like the guy I do, but he really needs to work on working within the offense... although in his defense George Karl doesn't really do much of anything in terms of calling plays or running sets anyway so...

Oh and I'm not even going to START on how terrible he is on D.

Allstar? no

[jdiddy_ub]

how are ratings not subjective? dude...its all a matter of opinion...you act like someone can actually give a number to a persons ability...unless 2k is doing it on a scale of percentages..which they clearly are not...all it is is SUBJECTIVITY...your not very bright if you that they are objective...if it were objective would there by multiple threads commenting on players ratings? the fact that there is a "2k insider" should already tell you that its subjective...he is the one making the "judgments"...so..you deal with it

[Introcollapse]

...your not very bright if you that they are objective...

You're not very bright 'cause your grammar is horrible. =)

If they're subjective, then I could easily grab 100 people, and tell them to post with me that Zack Randolph should be a 99 overall.

There is some sort of opinion to it, but opinion matters little compared to what happens in games and special events. Even if the ratings aren't based solely on factual statistics, I think they reflect those stats fairly well.

[jdiddy_ub]

and those 100 people you asked would probably be the least knowledgeable basketball fans in the world...im not saying that the ratings SHOULD be subjective..but the fact of the matter is that they are..because unless you base it purely on mathematics you cannot translate a persons ability to a single number without personal opinions..i was not looking to start a fight just stating the nature of the matter