{"id":387145,"date":"2011-04-21T22:11:18","date_gmt":"2011-04-21T22:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/21\/smith-not-expecting-to-stay-with-nuggets-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-21T22:11:18","modified_gmt":"2011-04-21T22:11:18","slug":"smith-not-expecting-to-stay-with-nuggets-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/21\/smith-not-expecting-to-stay-with-nuggets-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Smith not expecting to stay with Nuggets (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DENVER (AP)\u2014George Karl gave his players a break from the basketball court and the tongue-lashings.<\/p>\n

Still miffed about how the Nuggets got outworked at Oklahoma City, Denver\u2019s coach chose not to hold practice or even watch film on Thursday, instead meeting with his team to talk things over.<\/p>\n

The message might have been to keep their heads up, but guard J.R. Smith<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> was downtrodden after playing just six minutes in the Nuggets\u2019 106-89 loss Wednesday night that put them in an 0-2 hole in the best-of-7 series that shifts to Denver for Game 3 on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Smith suggested Thursday he\u2019s there was a \u201cstrong possibility\u201d he\u2019d sign elsewhere next summer as a free agent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going the way I planned,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough situation. You want to be here I\u2019ve been here for five years. I love the fans, I love everything about the city. It\u2019s just maybe not my fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Thunder outscored the Nuggets by 17 points when Smith was on the court, so he took a seat for entire second half, along with center Chris \u201cBirdman\u201d Andersen.<\/p>\n

Smith, who scored just two points on 1 for 6 shooting and missed his only three-point attempt in Game 2, complained that if he doesn\u2019t hit his shots right away, he always gets a quick hook from Karl.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was minus-17 in six minutes. Those guys shouldn\u2019t get second chances,\u201d retorted Karl, who had suggested before the playoffs that he would have a short fuse for mistakes.<\/p>\n

Smith hadn\u2019t played so sparingly since Nov. 17, when he made only a cameo appearance against the New York Knicks<\/a> after being late for shootaround that morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, he was on the court when we went from about an eight- or nine-point game to a 26-point (deficit),\u201d Karl said. \u201cSo, I\u2019m not saying it was all his fault. I\u2019m just saying when that happens, I\u2019ve got to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how deep in his doghouse Smith was, Karl said: \u201cI don\u2019t know how to answer that question. I hope he\u2019s ready to play on Saturday, and hopefully there will be a situation where he can kind of bounce back and have a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nuggets are going to need bounce-back performances from both Smith and Andersen in this series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will probably communicate with them tomorrow,\u201d Karl said. \u201cToday I\u2019m mad, I\u2019m angry, probably not the best mode for me to go after you. \u2026 It\u2019s like a marriage, sometimes you need some space.\u201d<\/p>\n

And sometimes marriages don\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n

When he left the team\u2019s meeting Thursday, Smith said the Nuggets lacked a pulse.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just frustration. Just really didn\u2019t have any life in there today. Nobody was really into it, from what it seemed. Just out of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not worried,\u201d Smith added. \u201cI still think we\u2019re in a great position to make some things happen. We\u2019ve got a lot of weapons. Just got to put them to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said he\u2019s ready to play if his number is called, and \u201cif they don\u2019t ask me to play, I\u2019ll cheer for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just what guard Arron Afflalo<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> has been doing while sitting out with a strained left hamstring that cost him 13 games over the final month of the regular season and kept him out of the playoffs so far.<\/p>\n

Afflalo, who tried coming back from the injury too early three different times only to suffer setbacks, will return for Game 3 if he gets through Friday\u2019s practice OK.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel healthy,\u201d Afflalo said. \u201cI feel ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Afflalo, who gives the Nuggets another defender to throw at Kevin Durant<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Russell Westbrook<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> didn\u2019t much like his view from the bench Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating the way that we lost. That was kind of embarrassing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they executed, they played well. They\u2019re playing with a lot of confidence. In my mind, that\u2019s all a mental approach. That\u2019s nothing physical. That can be changed in a snap of a finger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karl is counting on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told them my only disappointment is I thought we got outworked. And that\u2019s hard to swallow,\u201d Karl said. \u201cThe first 15 minutes of that game, it wasn\u2019t X\u2019s and O\u2019s, it was about hustle points and outrunning and outrebounding, hitting and screening. I mean, we didn\u2019t do anything at an intensity level that was respectful of the competition level and the game. From that point forward, I think it was OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Afflalo could be the Nuggets\u2019 wild-card in this series.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of our most tough-minded, fundamentally sound, hard-nosed, winning guys on our team,\u201d Karl said. \u201cBefore he got hurt, he was playing the most minutes on the team. He played more minutes than (Carmelo Anthony<\/a>(notes)<\/a>),<\/span> he played more minutes than Chauncey (Billups). He\u2019s a competitive, winning kid. Skill-wise, he doesn\u2019t have greatness but he has \u2018damn good\u2019 in a lot of areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Thunder are two wins away from winning its first playoff series since the team moved from Seattle in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s far from over,\u201d Thunder center Nazr Mohammed<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said. \u201cIf they win two games on their home floor, we\u2019ve got a series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is exactly what Karl is predicting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great Easter weekend,\u201d Karl said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to win two games, and it\u2019s going to be a best-of-3 series, which really makes it exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writer Jeff Latzke contributed from Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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