If youve ever read anything about the Nuggets(which Im sure you have), that would give you a small glimpse into how much Karl hates Smith. He tried having him dumped for a draft pick last year if my memory serves me right. He was definately on the trade block after having a good year.
And then this year he breaks out, becoming a top 3 6th man, scoring 15+ppg, actually passing the ball, making more right plays, and attempting to play defence. In other words he finally became a good all around player this year.
Now, I can see why Karl brought him off the bench, and had Jones starting simply for the fact that they did have a good balance of scoring in the starting lineup and they didnt need anything but defence out of the SG spot which Jones provided most of the time. But really besides that, what other aspect of his game do you like? What other skill does he have?
And when your team is struggling to score and it is apparent to anyone with a brain that either Kleiza or Smith should be starting in the Lakers series because not only is Jones a liability on offence with no one guarding him all series and being able to double team their main guys, but getting lit up by Kobe as well, why would you continue to start Jones when hes creating a huge negative effect for the Nuggets when hes on the court? Kleiza was spreading the Lakers D out and rebounding as well, and although JR wasnt shooting well, the D was respecting him, creating open lanes for CB and Melo. The Lakers jumped on them in the 1st and 3rd qtrs because Jones was on the court.
You'll see how terrible this contract is come next year when hes coming off the bench as a role player behind Dunleavy. Hes going to have no impact and hes going to have 3 pts 1 rebound on most nights and then I'll be back here telling you I told you so like with that Barrett guy and you saying hes better/going to be better than Jose.
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