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I'm glad the Spurs didn't trade Barry for Smith after all! That trade didn't go down in the 11th hour for a damn good reason which ultimately seems to have benefitted the Spurs.
Who shot the Nuggets? J.R.
By Woody Paige
Denver Post Staff Columnist
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated:04/29/2007 01:02:17 AM MDT
Allen Iverson had tied the score at 64, and the largest frothing basketball crowd in Denver basketball history braced for a fast, furious, frenzied, fantastic finish - maybe a winning shot at the buzzer or an overtime victory.
Phooey.
That's when J.R. Smith entered stage left. Too bad he didn't exit stage right immediately.
The Spurs were as thrilled to see Smith as kids are to taste cotton candy.
Cotton candy would be more effective on defense.
By the time Smith's awful inbound pass was stolen by Robert Horry, who made a three-pointer, and Smith stole the ball and ludicrously didn't pass off to Iverson on the wing for an easy shot and had his own rejected by Horry, and Smith knocked down Iverson and fell over him, leaving the Spurs with an open three-point shot at the other end, and after Smith made a three-point play, but then missed a three-pointer and committed a flagrant foul at the other end on Ginobili, the Nuggets were down 77-67, and the foamy crowd became a fuming crowd.
The game was over. The series probably is over.
Same old same old.
"It's frustrating," Smith said. "We're losing games we should win."
Maybe if coach George Karl didn't play Smith, they would win games they should win.
Sure, there may be a mul ude of reasons why the Nuggets' "must win" turned into "musty loss."
But every list of reasons would be headed by J.R.
And it's not just me claiming it.
"That foul, the J.R. foul, we gave up four points on that play right there. We had to fight ever since. I think that was the turning point of the game," Carmelo Anthony said.
Karl said point blank: "J.R. had a big turnover which I think kind of shook us up."
I guess so. They Nuggets were in shock while J.R. tried to win the game by himself, but seemed to lose it by himself.
Smith's pass to Horry was the best assist the Spurs had all night. Smith should stick to garbage time because he played like rubbish.
If you can't help the Nuggets, J.R., don't hurt them. Linas Kleiza had 13 zeroes in his box score line Saturday, and he contributed more than Smith.
Smith always seems to be talking big, but he has come up small in the playoffs.
The Nuggets may be younger and more athletic overall and as talented as the Spurs, but the Spurs are more experienced in the playoffs, wiser in these games and better from the three-point arc and stronger from the bench.
"I feel this is a loss we can build on," Karl said. The Nuggets lead in moral victories, 2-0, but it's not a best-of-moral-victories series, and moral victories are for satisfied losers.
Karl said the Nuggets had a great shoot-around Saturday morning. The Nuggets also lead the series in shoot-arounds, but trail where it counts, 2-1.
The NBA sent its powerful-and-remarkable commissioner, David Stern, to Game 3, but also, oddly, sent three weak and indecisive officials who looked like they were working their first game ever. When they weren't busy calling a technical foul on Karl for leaving the coaching box - a penalty levied about once a millennium in the NBA - they were whistling three defensive three-second technicals. The San Antonio-Denver game obviously wasn't important enough to the NBA to provide one lead referee. Where's Joey Crawford when you need him?
The officials didn't beat the Nuggets. S&S (Spurs and Smith) combined to beat the Nuggets.
The Spurs would pass the ball inside to Tim Duncan; the Nuggets would converge, and Duncan would pass outside to Horry, Ginobili, Michael Finley and Tony Parker.
The foursome made 9 of 21 three-point attempts - 42.9 percent, which, interestingly, was the Nuggets' percentage for layups and other common shots.
Smith, meanwhile, was 0 for 3 from beyond the three-point arc.
The Nuggets should have placed themselves in a position to win before Smith put them in a position to lose (when the Spurs had three of their starters on the bench).
The Spurs were sluggish early, but the Nuggets had only a five-point lead six minutes in. The crowd of at least 19,951 was in a festive mood, thinking the Nuggets would grab a 2-1 series lead and probably put it out of reach at 3-1 on Monday night. Now, the Nuggets could disappear as quickly as they usually do in the post-season.
The Nuggets put the hook to San Antonio in the first game, then let the Spurs off it in the next two.
And the only chance the Nuggets now have is when the game is tied at 64 on Monday night, Karl should keep his mouth shut and his starting lineup intact.
Staff writer Woody Paige can be reached at 303-954-1095 or [email protected].
http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/ar...7496&siteId=36
I'm glad the Spurs didn't trade Barry for Smith after all! That trade didn't go down in the 11th hour for a damn good reason which ultimately seems to have benefitted the Spurs.
DAYUM. Yeah, this is going to be a united team for game four. , the blood is in the water and the sharks are HERE.
I stated this in another thread, but I'm now thinking that Smith would have been an early version of Ely. He just seems WAY too stupid (basketball wise) to get on the floor for SA.
wait... did woody paige write a decent article?
Other than ing about the refereeing while failing to note that Denver still had more than a 2:1 advantage at the FT line, and jumping to the "oh my god we are down 2-1 so the series is over" trap, and ...
"didn't play Smith, they would win games they should win."
"The Nuggets lead in moral victories"
"The Nuggets also lead the series in shoot-arounds"
"Smith put them in a position to lose"
As a Broncos fan, I read woody paige articles all the time, and he's a damn good writer. Terrible on TV though.
Seeing JR Smith in the game just settles my pulse for some reason. That thug couldn't play smart basketball if George Karl's career depended on it.
I can't stand the Nuggets. Not once have I seen any of them give credit to the Spurs defense...especially A.I. Parker and Bowen did very well on him.
Linas Kleiza had 13 zeroes in his box score line Saturday, and he contributed more than Smith.
the truth
I hadn't read Woody Paige before, but judging by this article the guy seems like a total hack:
Wow! Lines like this are what you would expect from some kid writing for his high school paper.the foamy crowd became a fuming crowd.
Sure, there may be a mul ude of reasons why the Nuggets' "must win" turned into "musty loss."
But he used his best material to slam J.R. Smith:
Ouch. One more reason I hope the Spurs close out the series in the next two games.That's when J.R. Smith entered stage left. Too bad he didn't exit stage right immediately.
The Spurs were as thrilled to see Smith as kids are to taste cotton candy.
Cotton candy would be more effective on defense.
Smith should stick to garbage time because he played like rubbish.
Smith always seems to be talking big, but he has come up small in the playoffs.
Last edited by ThomasGranger; 04-29-2007 at 10:58 AM.
Karl said the Nuggets had a great shoot-around Saturday morning. The Nuggets also lead the series in shoot-arounds, but trail where it counts, 2-1.
Actually, I like Woody on TV. At least he calls it like he sees it and doesn't pull any punches. he also has a brutal sense of humour. He kicks the through that idiot Kizsla! Go Woody!!!
So according to Paige, the Nuggets should be winning all of these games, and the Spurs are getting lucky because the Nuggets suck and are letting them off the hook? What a turd.
Oh, and the entire team and press are throwing Smith under the bus...probably a short bus if we are talking about the Nuggets. He must feel all warm and cozy in that locker room.
Yeah, Kizsla makes Woody look like a Pulitzer winner.
Actually, I like Woody on TV. At least he calls it like he sees it and doesn't pull any punches. he also has a brutal sense of humour. He kicks the through that idiot Kizsla! Go Woody!!!
Absolutely horrible article, but the take is interesting. Certainly Smith isn't losing this series for the Nuggets, but he will be an easy target for the blame when the Nuggets go down. Game 3 will be the on the press points to.
wow. pretty harsh. what a total contrast to the Spurs team reaction last year when Manu lost the ball in Sacramento and fouled Dirk in Dallas.
granted it was a bonehead play, but they had 12 minutes to rectify the damage. now they're making it as an excuse.
the last thing George Karl needs is to kick his player while he's down. But after tonight, JR might just be sitting pretty on the bench so...
Mentally soft teams allow themselves to be disrupted by one player.
What an asshole... He is on YOUR team... dont throw him under the bus... the kid is what? 20?
Jesus...
As an elementary school teacher, I am agast at how a published writer can get away with a 2nd grade error--this sentence is a horrible run-on.The Nuggets may be younger and more athletic overall and as talented as the Spurs, but the Spurs are more experienced in the playoffs, wiser in these games and better from the three-point arc and stronger from the bench.
this just exposes the kind of coach george karl is. One third quarter turnover doesn't cost you a game. when it came down to it, the spurs executed and the nuggets crumbled. he should be more worried about that than a stupid mistake by a youngster.
Wow. That article was way too harsh. yeah JR made a bonehead move, but he was NOT the reason they lost.
Thats just sad that they are trying to throw him under the bus like that.
Horry has actually done that suprise inbound steal quite a few times in his career. That probably could have happened to any number of the nuggets...not just JR.
Also, the dude is youg. They need to keep their ing about him private and freaking teach him...have him learn from these mistakes. Getting on him in public like that is just sad.
...our best players make boneheaded plays as well...but you never see our players calling them out. Look at Manu last year. Huge bonehead play against the Mavs...but in the end it was a simple mistake. You learn and move on. If the Nuggets can't do that then I can't see them becoming a long term threat as a team.
Actually, Iverson was -- I thought anyway -- very complimentary of the Spurs in his post-game comments in the press room last night.
I have to admit that Smith was a disaster saturday night
^^^on that note (elementary school teacher).....
One-liners are only used to set off and highlight an important point, or when a sentence can stand alone. These three lines can't stand in a supported argument, never mind highlighted on their own. NEXT.That's when J.R. Smith entered stage left. Too bad he didn't exit stage right immediately.
The Spurs were as thrilled to see Smith as kids are to taste cotton candy.
Cotton candy would be more effective on defense.
1) Never make a claim you are not immediately prepared to support. 2) If you've heard something said elsewhere, do not use it again. "Same old same old" is the equivalent of giving a speech filled with "uhm..."s. NEXT.The game was over. The series probably is over.
Same old same old.
Since when did this article about one game turn into a projection on multiple games? NEXT.Maybe if coach George Karl didn't play Smith, they would win games they should win.
Read this sentence aloud -- it makes no sense. Or for that matter, read this entire article aloud. While his take on JR (as I have said) has some possible legs, his writing is appropriately reminiscent of the cotton candy he mentioned in the beginning: pink, fluffy and sweet, but absolutely no substance. Cotton candy is pretty much just sugar and air. NEXT.And the only chance the Nuggets now have is when the game is tied at 64 on Monday night, Karl should keep his mouth shut and his starting lineup intact.
Smith is still a very talented player. This is just his first playoff series. If we can win with Udrih on our roster making stupid playoff gaffs (2005) then Denver is no worse off with Smith.
The Nuggets lost because they couldn't score against the Spurs D when it counted. Plain and simple.
Now, 2 more times, boys.
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