Some of the dresses on female guests were tighter than a Michael Phelps swimsuit. The waitresses looked like they should be carrying those trays down runways as they slithered through a fray of Denver’s finest athletesCarmelo Anthony, Champ Bailey, Brandon Marshall and Kenyon Martin, the host of Tuesday’s charity soiree.
Meanwhile, Nuggets coach George Karl hid in the back corner of the room, where J.R. Smith spotted him from the epicenter of glitz.
The Nuggets guard made a point to greet his coach, and the two chatted and laughed and, possibly, even bonded a little. Yes, they do actually speak at times.
The relationship between Karl and Smith has often been analyzed and scrutinized since Smith’s Rocky Mountain arrival. Right now, Smith said: “We have a relationship — it’s not like we’re peaches and cream, but it’s enough to where we can both function.”
Said Karl: “The rest of the nation thinks that we’re down on J.R., but it’s the exact opposite — we’re spending a tremendous amount of time on J.R. We know his potential and value. We’re going to give him as much time — it just doesn’t come from the head coach as much as maybe someone else.”
The 57-year-old Karl and the 23-year-old Smith make fascinating bedfellows. The coach is a thought-he’d-seen-it-all basketball sage, who preaches Billups-like teamwork and dedication. The player is a prodigious sharpshooter, who calls himself “Young Rich” and makes decisions — on the court and off — that are sometimes, well, curious.
“There’s always areas you can mature in,” Smith admitted.
This season, like the others, we’ve seen some brilliance — Smith scored 32 points against the Hornets — and some befuddling — Smith was benched for a whole game after coming late to practice.
When locked in, Smith’s 3-point shooting seems as effortless as free-throw shooting. But this occasionally backfires, as seen in a recent loss to the Spurs, when Smith consecutively launched missed 3s early in the possession.
“His game is confusing at times,” Karl said.
In regards to the ever-grooming of Smith, some fans think it all lies on Karl, which isn’t the case — and isn’t fair. It takes villages. Karl said numerous assistant coaches, front-office folks and even Smith’s family have been asked to guide the guidance. Smith is an investment.
“It would be the same thing as if coaching defense — if (assistant coach) Tim Grgurich can coach my team better than I can coach my team at the defensive end of the court, he should coach the team,” Karl said. “. . . And I’ll have a conversation once in a while, saying, ‘J.R,. this is where I’m coming from, this is how we’re going to handle it.’ ”
Like many other Nuggets, Smith has latched onto the aforementioned Grgurich, a longtime friend of Karl’s, who has a knack for connecting with players.
As for Karl and Smith, the roller coaster has slowed down. We’ll have to see if there will be some more rides.
Board crashing.
Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap has 10 consecutive games with 10 or more rebounds. The last Jazz player to do? Karl Malone, with 16 consecutive games in 1992.
Entering Saturday’s games, Minnesota’s Al Jefferson was averaging the most rebounds in the Northwest Division (10.1). Millsap was second with 8.4. And third? Yep, the Nuggets’ Anthony (8.2).
Sir Mouth.
Guess who’s coming to Denver? Former NBA star Charles Barkley, who has become similarly prominent for his pontificating on TNT, is coming to town. He is speaking Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Theatre downtown and promises the show won’t be “turr-ible.”
There was a pretty good exchange on Barkley’s show Thursday, when Barkley promoted his new show on the Golf Channel: “Project Barkley with Hank Haney.” Barkley will try to become a good golfer with the help of Haney, Tiger Woods’ coach.
Joked TNT analyst Kenny Smith: “Kwame Brown played for Phil Jackson . . . It didn’t work.”
They said it.
“There are truly only two ways to play this game. Buddy Ryan said it years ago: You’re either predator or you’re prey. We don’t want to be prey.” — new Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale
Spotlight on …
J.J. Barea, Mavericks guard
It’s quite possible one could mistake J.J. Barea for a ball boy during a Mavericks pregame shootaround.
Barea is listed at 6-feet, as generous as a bartender making a single a double. And, as you know, Barea is not well-known. But the little guard is doing big things of late, scoring 15 or more points four times already in December.
The Nuggets will face Barea and possibly a three- guard Mavericks attack Monday in Dallas, and they will have to suddenly prioritize Barea, who entered December with just one double-digit scoring night.
Arguably, his best game was Tuesday against the Spurs, when he scored 21 points with five assists — and no turnovers — in 40 minutes.
“Yeah, he’s a nice player,” said Nuggets power forward Kenyon Martin, who played with Dallas guard Jason Kidd in New Jersey. “He’s got an excellent teacher in front of him in J-Kidd. Just watching him, the way he pushes the ball and gets guys involved, and he has no fear. If you have no fear in this league, it will go a long way.”
Asked if newfound fame had changed the level-headed Barea, Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki said jokingly to reporters: “He’s changed already a little bit. He went up to the bouncer on Saturday and said, ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ ”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
