San Antonio – Of all the adjustments the players must make going into Wednesday’s Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs, Nuggets coach George Karl knows he needs to make one as well: Incorporate reserve players into the game.
“I don’t know if we can play 7 1/2 men for seven games,” Karl said. “I’m going to have to play the bench more. Finding J.R. (Smith), I think, is going to be important.”
Smith played just four minutes in the Nuggets’ win Sunday. Starters played 208 of a possible 240 minutes and scored 89 of Denver’s 95 points.
Smith and Kleiza, who led a Nuggets bench that scored 35-to-40 points per game during the regular season, were limited to a combined three points. They combined for just eight shots and missed all four 3-point attempts.
Kleiza, who played 18 minutes, said at some point the Nuggets’ bench will be pivotal.
“I think one of these games the bench is going to need to be big,” Kleiza said. “(Sunday) night, we didn’t really need it. We had our two superstars going. They combined for what, 61 points out of 95? But I bet the Spurs are going to try to take those options away. So somebody is going to need to step up and make shots.”
In the meantime, the considerable downtime between games allows Nuggets starters to play as long as they are needed.
“Rest always helps,” guard Allen Iverson said. “In the series, we understand how tough it’s going to be for us to try to win. And if you’re a basketball player, you want to play. I’d rather be in the game than out of the game. I can rest after the game is over.”
Nene coping
A day after tweaking his already-tender right knee, Nuggets forward Nene said he should be fine for Game 2. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the knee is fine.
“It’s bothering me,” Nene said Monday before practice. “But it’s OK.”
Nene left in the third quarter Sunday after hearing a pop and feeling discomfort in the knee, which has bothered him all season after having ACL surgery last season.
“It scared me,” Nene said.
It didn’t, however, stop him from scoring 13 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and playing tough defense on Spurs star Tim Duncan.
Camby to get award?
The Nuggets are optimistic center Marcus Camby has a great shot at landing the NBA’s defensive player of the year award Friday. Through its research online, the Nuggets’ media relations staff has learned that 13 of the 25 voters they have been able to track down voted for Camby.
Those statistics are just a small sampling since 132 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada vote for the award. If Camby wins, he likely will be given the award Saturday before Game 3 at the Pepsi Center.
Footnotes
Denver’s Monday practice featured the players who didn’t play much or at all Sunday night. Regulars went through light drills….The Nuggets announced there will be no change in season-ticket prices for next season. The current average price for a ticket is $56.13….Nuggets officials said late Monday afternoon there were approximately 300 tickets remaining for Saturday’s Game 3 and about 2,000 available for Game 4 Monday.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
