Nuggets’ Smith works at staying focused
Web Posted: 04/24/2007 09:55 PM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News
The bus for the Denver Nuggets’ Tuesday morning practice session wasn’t due to arrive at the AT&T Center for another 30 minutes, but some of the players already were on the court, engaged in a competitive half-court game.
Mostly, the participants were players Spurs fans would not recognize: Yakouba Diawara, Von Wafer, Anthony Carter, Jamal Sampson, plus Coby Karl, the head coach’s son who is getting back in shape after recent surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes.
Then there was J.R. Smith, who started 24 games this season and had been a regular in George Karl’s rotation until falling out of favor late in the season.
Smith was the only participant in the pickup game who played in the Nuggets’ Game 1 victory Sunday, but he logged only five minutes. His presence in Tuesday’s practice game was all about staying in shape.
“We started coming early and playing like this before practice a couple weeks ago to keep in shape when we’re not playing. Some of us aren’t playing during the games, and we’re barely practicing now because we’ve got to focus on the mental part of the game,” Smith said. “So you’ve just got to keep your body in shape.”
Smith is just 21 years old, so keeping his body fit is not difficult. Keeping his mind right after seeing his role diminish in the weeks before the playoffs has been tougher, but Smith insists patience is no problem.
“It’s about one thing,” Smith said, "and that’s getting that gold ball (the NBA championship trophy).
“I can play 48 minutes, and we can lose, but if I don’t play at all and we win, it doesn’t really make a difference to me, as long as we win.”
Karl doesn’t believe he can play “71/2 men” and survive in a seven-game series. He said he likely will bring only Linas Kleiza, Eduardo Najera and Smith off the bench tonight. His goal, though, is to give all of them more time, especially Smith.
“J.R. played better individually (in Game 1),” Karl said, “but he got in that momentum swing in the game when the game got going the wrong way, so I didn’t go back to him in the second half. That’s because Steve (Blake) gave me the confidence to stick with him.”
More minutes for his three key bench players, Karl said, is vital to avoid wearing out the starters.
“Most people talk about physical fatigue,” Karl said, “but I think usually the mental focus can’t be sustained, and the mental mistakes can’t be tolerated.”
The first-round pairing of the Spurs and Nuggets made Smith reflect on how close he had come to joining the Spurs in 2006. Smith, rarely used by New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott, had been targeted by the Spurs for a possible trade. The Spurs and Hornets had agreed to a deal but needed a third team’s involvement to make it work under NBA salary cap guidelines. The Atlanta Hawks agreed to facilitate the trade but not until after the trade deadline had passed.
“It’s a championship organization,” Smith said of the Spurs. "Just for them to have the thought that they wanted me to play on their team is amazing.
“I was really hyped up about it, but it didn’t go through. Now I’ve got to play against them in the first round in my first playoffs ever.”