San Antonio – Minutes after Nuggets coach George Karl explained the difference between this supposedly positive postseason and the drama-filled 2006 playoffs, he injected a small bit of new drama.
In order to help breathe new life into his team, which is down 3-1 in the first-round series against San Antonio going into tonight’s Game 5, he pledged not to play the volatile J.R. Smith.
“He’s a good-bad player,” Karl said Tuesday morning after practice in Denver. “You evaluate his good, you evaluate his bad. He had good plays in Game 3 and he had good plays in Game 4. But you’ve just got to be mentally more secure and tougher than he showed in Game 4.”
Smith was not available for comment during the media session Tuesday afternoon. Neither he nor his father, Earl, returned phone calls Tuesday night.
It is not the first time Karl has benched a player for at least one playoff game. Last season he suspended forward Kenyon Martin for “conduct detrimental to the team” during the Nuggets’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers.
But that was more a result of off-court matters.
Martin was not the only Nugget to battle Karl in the 2006 postseason. Former Nuggets forward Ruben Patterson criticized Karl over Martin’s suspension, and after a Game 4 loss argued with Karl over his lack of playing time.
Karl did not play Patterson in Game 5, partly as punishment and partly because he wanted more shooters in the game, Karl said at the time.
The coach’s decision not to play Smith was precipitated by on-court transgressions.
Smith was charged with negatively changing the momentum in Game 3 on Saturday night with several bad plays.
At the end of the third quarter, he turned over the ball, leading to a Robert Horry 3-pointer. Then a possession later, he got a steal and took an ill-advised shot, after which San Antonio sprinted back the other way for a Michael Finley 3-pointer. Those six quick points turned a 66-64 game into a 72-64 Spurs lead with less than two minutes left.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Smith was called for a flagrant foul that allowed San Antonio to keep the momentum. The Spurs went on to win that game.
Monday, in addition to a third-quarter turnover, the guard attempted a questionable 3-pointer with 25 seconds left and the Nuggets trailing by four. The ball was supposed to go to a teammate. But what pushed Karl over the edge was another 3-pointer late in the game.
“Of course the one with eight seconds to go, from 50 feet,” Karl said. “I just love the dignity of the game being insulted right in front of me.”
Karl said he had not talked to Smith about it by the time he met reporters at around noon at Pepsi Center. Smith is averaging 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game.
It has been a tumultuous season for Smith. He started the season strong before a 10-game fighting suspension in December cooled him off. He was never able to regain his early-season form, and a knee injury furthered the slide.
When Smith returned in mid-March, he was a bit player, used off the bench to provide a spark with defense and 3-point shooting. But in the playoffs, he has been responsible for more bad plays than good.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
