Whether the Nuggets pay attention to teams chasing them for a playoff spot depends on whom you ask.
Coach George Karl: “Not very much. I think it’s a waste of karma and energy. You better win games, and you better get yourself improved, and you better learn when you lose.”
Forward Eduardo Najera: “We don’t think about it all the time, but we’re aware of it. We just try and control the things we can on the basketball court.”
Guard Allen Iverson: “I’m just concerned about what’s going on with us. I don’t get into who’s on our trail. I just concentrate on what we’re doing.”
The Nuggets’ opponent Tuesday, New Orleans, is one of those teams on Denver’s tail and arguably the most dangerous. The Nuggets have slipped to the eighth playoff spot by a percentage point behind the Los Angeles Clippers and are just 1 1/2 games in front of the Hornets.
It makes Tuesday’s game of particular importance on a couple of levels. First is just staving the Hornets, among others, off and finishing in the playoffs. But if it comes down to a tiebreaker scenario, right now New Orleans has the edge, leading the season series against the Nuggets 2-0 with two games to go.
The Hornets beat the Nuggets 114-112 at the Pepsi Center in the most recent meeting Feb. 7.
“I know they got a good team,” Iverson said.
Smith to practice?
Nuggets guard J.R. Smith said he has a tentative return date of March 15 against the Los Angeles Lakers, and trainer Jim Gillen believes Smith can be ready to return to practice by the end of this week.
It has been nearly two weeks since Smith underwent arthroscopic surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee. In the past few days, Smith has been out on the court shooting 3-pointers, running, and making minor moves with the basketball. There has been some swelling, and Smith was scheduled to get the knee drained Sunday afternoon.
“Today it felt good, I just want to get the swelling out of it,” Smith said. “I can do everything right now, it’s just the swelling. I can’t bend my knee as much as I want to, and I can’t jump the way I want to because of the swelling.”
Footnotes
Center Marcus Camby (bruised tailbone) did not practice Sunday, but is expected to play Tuesday. … Najera is shooting 72 percent from the field (42-of-58) over the past 10 games. “I give all the credit to Melo and A.I.,” Najera said. … Guard Steve Blake’s father was in attendance at Sunday’s practice and will be in town for the next two or three weeks. “He was itching to get out here,” Blake said.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
