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J.R. Smith looked so good early in the season before he injured himself. This April he hasn’t played too well and the Nuggets need his shooting in the playoffs if they have any hope of advancing past the first round. Smith has played in 7 games this month and he’s only averaging 6.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He also has only shot 39.5% from the floor and that just won’t get it done for the Nuggets.
Linas Kleiza has been shooting a lot of bricks as of late. He’s only shooting 34.7% from the floor over his last five games. He’s averaged 21.5 minutes and 9.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game over the last five. If his shooting improves he will be an asset to the Nuggets down the stretch, but if he keeps clanking shots of the rim he will have to sit.
Eduardo Najera has been awful lately and it cost him his starting job. In his last 6 games (2 starts) he’s averaging 2.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists. He also is shooting 29.4% from the floor in the last six games. Until he starts to play better he’ll have a hard time getting playing time.
The Nuggets gave Nene a big contract in the off-season and he’s not justified their faith in him yet. With Kenyon Martin out for the season it would have been great if Nene just stepped in and played like everyone thought he could…..but he hasn’t. Nene has played in 18 games and he’s averaging 17.9 minutes, 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.1 blocks this season. His shooting also has been poor for a player his size as he’s only hitting 42.2% from the floor.