Checking Up On JR Smith And The Denver Nuggets, Seven Days Later

On Monday of last week, I put together an article that was anchored around praise of JR Smith. It linked him to the Nuggets' success, praised him for his performance in the fourth quarter, and even gave him an awesome nickname (Krazy Glue):

Perhaps in spite of himself, J.R. Smith has become the most important clutch player on Denver's roster. ... When J.R. Smith is hitting his shots, the Nuggets are pretty much unstoppable. He's the catalyst for them, the most mercurial "glue guy" in the history of title contenders.

A "Krazy Glue guy," if you will. How can you not love that?

Since then, Krazy Glue has shot 9-30 from the field and just 3-13 from three, all while Denver has come unraveled before our eyes. Is it Smith's fault? Not necessarily, but this is a good time to reiterate last week's point. When J.R. Smith is good, so are the Nuggets. When he's bad... Well, here's what he tweeted last night:

You play selfish you lose selfish that's all I'm saying about the game!

Hmm. Wonder what that means. Is he referring to Carmelo Anthony, who had 42 points and pretty much carried the Nuggets all night? The other Denver starters? Or maybe he's referring to himself??? Nahhh. Definitely not that one.

But maybe he should look in the mirror. Here's this from last night, via a Utah beat writer:

J.R. Smith didn't look at a single teammate as he lowered his head, drove to the basket and tossed up that shot with Denver down 9.

But then, that's his game, isn't it? When he gets the ball, he takes shots, and when he makes them, the Nuggets win. So many questions here, but one thing's for certain: Play selfish and you lose selfish... Especially if your most selfish player is missing his shots.