Karl Benches Smith For Remainder Of Series

[JPB]

(Didn't find it in another thread)

Karl Benches Smith For Remainder Of Series
2nd May, 2007 - 2:56 am
San Antonio Express-News -
Nuggets coach George Karl, who said the Spurs had "out-tricked" the Nuggets in winning Game 3, is about to pull the dirtiest trick of the series on the Spurs: He's sitting mistake-prone J.R. Smith for as long as the series lasts.

"He's done," Karl said.

Asked if the ill-advised, 26-foot shot Smith launched when the Nuggets trailed by four points with 26.9 seconds remaining in Monday's Game 4 had been the "straw that broke the camel's back" for Smith, Karl nodded his head.

"That shot," Karl said, "I have no idea what planet that came from. And, of course, the one with eight seconds to go from 50 feet."

"I just love that," Karl said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, of Smith's heave near the end of the game. "I love the dignity of the game being insulted right in front of me."

Asked why he had played him in Game 4 after the costly mistakes Smith had made in Game 3, Karl defended his decision.

"He's a good-bad player," Karl said. "You evaluate his good and evaluate his bad. He had good plays in Game 3 and he had good plays in the game before that. But you've got to be mentally more secure and tougher than he showed in Game 4." [READ]

[Slomo]

How about a few threads below?

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65760