SHOOTING GONE COLD, J.R. EXCELS IN ASSISTS
AND PLAYING DEFENSE
MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — We stopped the presses to ensure that this news made the newspaper Friday: J.R. Smith helped Denver win a big game without making big shots.
Yes, in Game 2 at the Lakers, the Nuggets shooting guard tallied three assists, including two for key 3-pointers; he drew a game-changing charge on Kobe Bryant; and he even guarded the former MVP for a few fourth- quarter possessions. J.R. Swish did everything, it seemed, except swish (three total points).
“I was amazed — J.R. had a bad stat game but a great floor game,” Denver coach George Karl said.
But entering Game 3 tonight in Denver, Karl also said his team is searching for a “third scorer” because Smith, normally that guy, hasn’t been that guy. In Game 1 against L.A., he was 2-for-7, and in Game 2 he was 1-for-6 while battling a right strained calf.
“I’ll limp here and there running up the court, but it doesn’t really bother me,” he said at the team’s hotel here Friday. “I just have to go back to the gym and get more reps in with it. I felt a tug here and there, but I was able to play. I can’t really jump off my right leg like I want to, but other than that, everything’s fine.”
As for his famous jumper, Smith said it’s still in his arsenal. It just seems to fire better in Denver. He averaged 16.7 points at the Pepsi Center in the regular season and 13.7 on the road. He has 11 combined points in two games versus L.A.
“J.R. is fighting through a lot, but we really don’t expect nothing less — he’s going to fight,” Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups said. “The deeper this series goes, the healthier he gets. That’s a fortunate thing for us.”
Injury update.
In addition to Smith, forward Carmelo Anthony is also playing through pain due to a swollen left ankle. “It’s sore, but I have 24 hours to get it right,” Anthony said Friday. And forward Kenyon Martin is playing with a fractured ring finger on his non-shooting hand.
Big praise for big man.
Similar to Smith, Nene didn’t do much on offense in Game 2, but he helped in other facets, notably with his passing — six assists, his most all season — and savvy pick-and-roll defense, something he has struggled with it at times.
“His defense on the pick-and- roll at the end of the game, he was involved on Kobe (Bryant) on four possessions,” Karl said. “He had some very good defensive presence on the pick-and-roll and made Kobe not the confident player he can be.”
Per usual.
Martin is again playing sturdy defense, this time against Andrew Bynum, who has been all but irrelevant in the first two games, with scoring totals of nine and six points.
“Kenyon’s done a good job on Pau (Gasol) most of his career, but we felt Nene was better suited for Pau and we put Kenyon on Bynum,” Karl said. “That’s who Kenyon is for us. It’s (power forward) David West, it’s (point guard) Chris Paul, I’m sure he’ll put more minutes on Kobe.”
Mirror images.
Karl had a laugh Friday when asked if he taught Billups the inbounds pass-off-the-opponent’s-back play, which Billups used to make a key layup at the end of the second quarter of Game 2.
“I think someone on the playground taught him that one; I didn’t teach him that one,” said Karl, a former player. “I actually did it in high school one time, but I failed. I tried to hit it off his back, and it hit the head and bounced the wrong way.”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
