Nuggets Don't Suspend J.R. Smith for Bench Antics

DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets discussed it. In the end, they decided not to suspend guard J.R. Smith for his bench antics Saturday.

"J.R. is not suspended,'' said Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman said before Smith scored 12 points in 28 minutes in Monday's 104-93 win over Charlotte.

Chapman didn't rule out there could be some other form of discipline for Smith, who sulked on the bench in Saturday's 116-110 overtime win over New Orleans when he played a season-low 12 minutes. Nuggets coach George Karl has called Smith's behavior on the bench "eclectic.''

Karl didn't deny a suspension was considered for Smith, who has had increased frustration due to a month-long shooting slump.

"I think we covered our bases, and I can't deny how we handle J.R. has been discussed extensively,'' said Karl, whose Nuggets beat the Bobcats despite being without star forward Carmelo Anthony due to a sprained left ankle. "It's all based on how we get him out of his slump and how we get him better.''

After Monday's game, Smith (seen above leaving the court against the Hornets last Saturday) shrugged off the negative publicity he has been receiving.

"I don't worry about that stuff no more,'' he said. "They out there just trying to sell newspapers. So they can say what they want.''

After Monday's shootaround, Smith said just a few words to assembled reporters, saying it was "frustration ... pretty much'' that he experienced Saturday. Smith then spoke briefly to FanHouse.

Smith, who wouldn't elaborate on his bench antics, was asked if he's upset at having his name attached to another negative incident.

"It's not the first time,'' Smith said.

Smith spent 23 days in jail last summer after pleading guilty to reckless driving in a 2007 incident that killed a passenger in his car. The NBA suspended him for the first seven games of this season for that incident. He also had been suspended by the Nuggets for the first three games of 2007-08 due to a nightclub incident.

Smith was asked if this is a setback, considering he talked before the season about having matured.

"No, it isn't a setback,'' he said.

Smith shot 5-of-14 for 12 points against the Bobcats. But Karl didn't question his effort.

"I still wish he'd shoot the ball a little better,'' Karl said. "But I think in general he played with a focus and an intensity. I think he knew it had to be a serious game and he gave us a serious game.''

Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said it's important in the team's goal to win a title to have Smith get his situation straightened out.

"He's one of our best players,'' said Billups, a team captain who serves as a mentor to Smith. "If you have one of your best players that's not either playing at his best or acting as best as he can, it's going to affect the team. And he knows that. And his role has been increased this year. The last couple of years he was probably one of the most talented players but maybe not a player that we had to lean on every night.

"We need J.R. He knows that. We need him to be right ... J.R.'s going to be fine. He got emotional the other night. He let that kind of overwhelm him, I think. He knows he used some poor judgment in the way he acted. And I know he's sorry for that.''

Smith, averaging 14.5 points but shooting just 40.3 percent for the season, has been in a bad shooting slump since scoring 41 points Dec. 23 against Atlanta. Frustrating Karl, though, has been Smith's shot selection and inability to drive regularly to the basket.

"I don't give a damn about his shooting,'' Karl said before Monday's game. "I give a damn about how he plays. I can handle bad shooting if you play hard and you play the right way and you play focused and you play disciplined and try to get better and try to be involved.

"I couldn't even tell you his stats on shooting other I think his shot selection at times stinks. And that's part of being disciplined. We have given him that freedom, and at times he's extended that freedom to the point that it's beneath the line.''

Karl will take any help he can get to improve Smith.

"I don't care who,'' Karl said. "If the janitor or the security guard can help J.R., that's fine with me.''

Despite the controversy surrounding Smith, the Nuggets on Monday won their seventh straight game.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com and on Twitter@christomasson