George Karl snaps back at J.R. Smith’s criticism on losing playoff series: ‘I’m sure JR was smoking weed’
The Nuggets lost the 2009 Western Conference finals to the Lakers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former NBA player J.R. Smith recently took a shot at his former head coach for dropping a 2009 playoff series to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, but George Karl isn't going down without a fight.
The Denver Nuggets lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals that year in six games, and Smith placed some of the blame on Karl.
Smith said a key reason for the loss was Karl's inability to draw up out-of-bounds plays.
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Head coach George Karl, left, talks to J.R. Smith and Chris Andersen of the Denver Nuggets during a game against the Utah Jazz April 2, 2009, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
"We didn't have one out-of-bounds play my whole time playing for this man. If you go back to that Lakers series [in 2009], we lose on three out-of-bounds plays. Trevor Ariza steals all of them, and we lose," Smith said on the "Old Man & the Three" podcast.
Karl took notice of Smith's comments, and despite saying Smith was the "second-best athlete I coached," he disagreed with Smith's notion. In fact, the 72-year-old showed he can Twitter-spar with the best of them.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Head coach George Karl of the Denver Nuggets walks the sideline during a game against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena Nov. 29, 2012, in Oakland, Calif. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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"I’m sure JR was smoking weed when we practiced them but it’s 15 years ago so let’s just celebrate and move forward!" he tweeted Wednesday.
Smith was in his fifth NBA season and averaged 15.2 points, then a career-high, on 44.6% from the floor. In that series, he averaged 12.7 points on a 38.7% shooting despite scoring 24 in both Games 4 and 6.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}J.R. Smith (5) of the Denver Nuggets goes to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers Nov. 13, 2009, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. (Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
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The Lakers went on to defeat the Orlando Magic in five games to win their first title since 2002, and they went back-to-back by defeating the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals the next year.