J.R. BucketsLast Wednesday, J.R. Smith was late for practice, so he was benched against the Clippers. On Thursday, he dropped 32 against the Hornets. Two days later, he played seven minutes against the T-Wolves without scoring. And then last night against the Rockets, Smith sunk five three’s and tallied 19 points off the bench. That way-up, and then way-down trend got George Karl talking.
“J.R. is a good-bad player, and we’re trying to take the bad out and magnify the good. . . . And consistency, defense and a positive, good attitude would keep him on the court,” Karl said. “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.”
That’s a perfect way to describe J.R. - he’s a good-bad player. His shot selection can be atrocious. But he can also spark the team’s offense with deadly three-point shooting and explosive drives to the cup.
In fact, this opens up an entire category of players who are generally too elusive to put into the “I’d Like to Have Him on My Team” or “I’d Absolutely Hate to Have Him on My Team” boxes.
For all of these guys, there’s a reason that they’re not good basketball players. (J.R.’s fatal flaw is that he is Capt. Jack Sparrow.) But at the same time, there’s something that you like about their game, so much so, that you actually can be convinced that they’re someone you actually want to play for your squad.
* J.R. Smith
* John Salmons
* Louis Williams
* Damien Wilkins
* Al Harrington
* Eddie House
* Emeka Okafor
* Tim Thomas
* Ray Felton
* Stromile Swift
What’s your list of the top ten Good-Bad NBA Players?
Source: Rocky Mountain News
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December 1st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Rubber Burner says:
JR is the man. Karl has the nerve to talk about D. Aint nan of his teams ever play Defense.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
justice says:
Lamar Odom, Daniel Gibson,Derrick Fisher
December 1st, 2008 at 1:39 pm
sanstm says:
I would love to have JR in a Cavs uni; Louis, Salmons (off the bench of course), Eddie House, Ray Felton, Meka (under a different contract), Ray Felton (if he didn’t jack so many shots), are all on the good side. I would rather accidentally shoot myself in the leg while doing the Wop then watch Tim Thomas fake his way through millions of my squad’s cash; and Al needs to toughen up, and no, his mohawk does not make him tougher.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Austin Burton says:
How long before Tyrus Thomas takes Stro’s spot on this list?
December 1st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
pffft ... Knicks says:
Skip to my Lou
December 1st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Lakeshow says:
When has Stro been good?
December 1st, 2008 at 1:50 pm
kowtz says:
Where the hell is Lamar?
December 1st, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Don Mega says:
Andrea Bargnani - plays like the #1 draft pick one night , plays like an italian meat oaf the next
December 1st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Amar says:
how about a “bad” bad player list - - - I nominate Felton Spencer.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:53 pm
D.Phoenix says:
In my opinion, a lot of stars make this list:
1) Yao - so skilled, but so soft
2) Dirk - see above, but add “unnecessarily calls out his teammates like a douche for their supposed lack of toughness”
3) Vince - if only he played all 82 games against the Raptors, then we’d always see him at his best.
4) Zach Randolph - dude is a beast who’s almost a lock for 20 and 10, but he’s also a lock for grounding his team’s offense to a halt, jacking up horrible perimeter shot attempts, and letting the man he’s guarding carve him up. He almost nullifies his own numbers
5) Marbury - how have his great career stats always failed to translate to anything positive for his team? As a Knicks fan, watching his tenure has been incredibly frustrating. So much talent, wasted.
6) T-Mac - maybe this isn’t fair, since he has no killer flaws in his game. Still, he takes after his cousin, half-man/half-a-season
Honorable mention: Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson
December 1st, 2008 at 2:06 pm
jjankechu says:
Eddie Griffin, RIP.
December 1st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
mavid says:
Flip Murray
December 1st, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Ric Hardwood says:
Ricky Buckets…
December 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Jah says:
None of them. I only want that good-good.
December 1st, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Chaos says:
Zach Randolph, Ricky Buckets, Lamar Odom, andray blatche, Tim thomas, Jamal Crawford
December 1st, 2008 at 2:51 pm
DPGC says:
Kevin Durant, Gerald Green, Leandro Barbosa, Sebastian Telfair, Nick Young, Flip Murray, Steve Francis (when he played), T.J. Ford….
December 1st, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Austin Burton says:
@mavid — Good call on Flip Murray.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Brown says:
@Don Mega
When has Bargnani ever played like a #1 pick? Lottery pick? Yes. First overall? No.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Max says:
The Bulls have an entire roster of good-bad (or bad-good) players surrounding Rose.
I wouldn’t put players like Z-Bo and Jamal on the list. Those guys are consistent offensive threats (with an off night here and there) who simply have no interest in defense.
Players like JR Smith and Al Harrington are more maddening because there seems to be some weird character flaw that’s keeping them from being all world talents. They’ll go on amazing streaks or make some highlight reel play, then completely stink it up for no good reason.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:34 pm
FrannyDavis says:
Stephen Jackson would be the perfect canidate
December 1st, 2008 at 3:35 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
This is gonna piss some people off…
1. Sheed-Soft. Big man doesnt like to bang. Has an attitude
2. AI- Great heart but too selfish.
Clearly these guys arent BAD, but wouldnt want either on my team
December 1st, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Shogun says:
Ricky Buckets, Gerald Green, Rashad McCants. All former or current Timberwolves.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:50 pm
doc says:
Ed Griff shoutout rip dog,but the whole sixers squad should be on here.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:02 pm
James says:
Ricky Davis should be on there
December 1st, 2008 at 4:11 pm
northern lights says:
yea, but ricky buckets isn’t someone you want on your squad… hes a black hole… has he ever been on a team with a winning record in the league?
December 1st, 2008 at 4:19 pm
isotope says:
Right now? Marbury. Steve Francis. They still have skill bur for other reasons cant get on the court.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:22 pm
isotope says:
truth is: most good players have some bad in them. The “good” is just good enough for us to forget about the bad.
December 1st, 2008 at 4:30 pm
bruce says:
zach randolph
jamal crawford
andre ig howeva u spell it..
December 1st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
rell says:
lamar odom
t-mac
December 1st, 2008 at 5:19 pm
A-Slam says:
boris diaw
December 1st, 2008 at 5:38 pm
JCARR says:
IGGY. he gets paid to suck at basketball. Where do I apply???
E-House is good???? guy cant even dribble
December 1st, 2008 at 9:13 pm
kowtz says:
This article should have been tittled Space Jam Syndrome…
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:00 am
Drew Ricketts says:
Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry’s always been bad save that one season so…no on 2nd thought, Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu (I know about last year but really…), good call on Daniel Gibson but Damon Jones fathered him.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:56 am
jay says:
hey andrew,
i can’t still get over with your impression of walter herrmann as “soft”.. lol.. get your facts straight..
with that alone, im also losing credibility on this article..
peace..