Oh, how they cheered J.R. Smith during that Atlanta game, when his meteor-shower shooting left Nuggets fans starry-eyed. But amid the “oohs!” and “aahs!” were muffled “ewws!” and “arrghs!”
“I kind of mumbled to myself, we’re going to have to put up with some tough nights because of this,” Nuggets coach George Karl said.
Smith made 10 3-pointers on Dec. 23, including four in the fourth quarter of the blowout, but since then, he has been forcing jumpers with seemingly false confidence.
As the clairvoyant Karl predicted, that’s been followed by the 9-for-23 night at Portland, followed by the 3-for-12 night against Dallas and then the 1-for-9 night at Sacramento. Denver lost all three games.
“J.R., once you have a game like that, he continues to force the issue,” Karl said. “He always takes one, two, maybe three more, and I don’t think great players do that. . . . I just don’t think great teams shoot a lot of degree-of-difficulty shots. The way our offense is structured, we’re going to shoot more than most. But that doesn’t mean we should be emphasizing to do so.”
The reserve shooting guard is known for his acrobatic jumpers, and can single-handedly turn a game if he gets hot. While his performance against Atlanta was thrilling to fans, Karl would rather have four consistent games rather than one spectacle.
“Whenever I shoot the ball, I think I can make it — that’s why I never think I shoot any bad shots,” Smith said after Thursday’s practice.
Asked if that works against him sometimes, Smith said: “In some peoples’ eyes.”
The Nuggets’ next game is Saturday at Utah. The Jazz is just 2 games behind first- place Denver, which has lost six consecutive road games. In order to get Smith out of his slump, Karl suggested he try to ease his way into the offense — and make things easier on himself — by waiting until he has an open shot, or working to get layups, which can ultimately create space for jumpers.
“Don’t try to force it,” Karl said.
Smith is averaging 15.4 points but shooting just 41.7 percent. And at the free-throw line, he’s been nightmarish, shooting 69.4 percent, 114th- best in the NBA.
Footnotes.
Point guard Chauncey Billups (groin) is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game, while Carmelo Anthony (knee) is listed as probable. Neither practiced Thursday. Anthony leads all Western Conference forwards in all-star voting.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
