Official 2010 NBA Playoffs Discussion

The Nuggets' J.R. Smith had a rough season, spending more time in the doghouse than outside it. But the doghouse may have been safer than the Cherry Hills Country Club mansion he's been renting. Burglars messed with his Mercedes, stole expensive watches, and made off with $15,000 in "gambling money."

According to documents provided by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office (to read them, click here), the incident took place on April 28, while the Nuggets were winning their last game of the year in their first-round playoff matchup against the Utah Jazz.

Smith, who was a non-factor in several of the Nuggets' losses to the Jazz in the series, had a strong night, going four for five from beyond the arc and scoring seventeen points. But upon returning to their gated community with housemate/employee Laquan Johnson, he was quickly brought back down to earth.

In the ACSO report, Johnson notes that he and J.R., who's referred to in the narrative by his given name, Earl, left for the game at about 6:45 p.m. -- and he's not sure a door he'd used to enter the house earlier had been locked behind him.

Here's Johnson's account of what he and Smith found upon their return, at about 12:30 a.m.:
• They saw that one of the garage doors was now open. • They entered the garage and saw the door to Earl's Mercedes was standing open.
• The glove box and center console had been opened and the garage door opener was missing. (no damage reported)
• They then entered the house.
• Earl went into his room, walked directly to his closet and noticed that 4 Louis Vaitton luggage bags ($1,500 a piece) had been stolen.
• One of the bags contained $15,000 in cash.
• Earl also noticed that the top drawer in his night stand was open and 1 G-Shock watch valued at $200 and 1 Panerai watch valued at $5,000 were now missing.
• Laquan went up to his room and noticed that someone had pulled clothes out of his drawers and tossed them all over the floor.
• A black Oakley sports bag ($45) containing $2,000 in cash was missing from the left side of his bed.

The pair didn't call the authorities right away, and neither did they spend the evening in the house. Out of concern about the missing garage-door opener, Johnson said, Smith decided they should stay the night at the Ritz Carlton downtown. Only afterward did they reach out to the sheriff's office.


Smith's account of what happened is said to have duplicated Johnson's in most respects -- but he did add some intriguing details:
• The money kept in the luggage was used as gambling money. • He has no idea who may have burglarized his house.
• Last night he did not call the police because he didn't want the press catching wind of this and that he wanted to talk with his parents before he did anything about the burglary.
• When he spoke to his father this morning he was told that the insurance company would need a police report before they could file a claim.

The kicker? The security cameras covering the front entrance of the country club weren't turned on that night, so there was no footage that might have helped the ACSO figure out who made off with Smith's watches, bags and mad money.

Talk about a gamble that didn't pay off.



That sucks for JR Smith.

Anyone hear the report today on sportscenter about how it's not Kobe who leads the team? It's Derek Fisher and Kobe. Apparently all Kobe does is use negative reenforcement and bash his team mates all the time and Fisher chimes in after with the positive. All of the players claim they are the perfect complement to each other. So all of this crap about his leadership is half merited.

Furthermore, Kobe can use negative reenforcement on his team mates and bash them but it's been reported that Kobe "doesn't listen to" his team mates and "only let's Fisher talk to him when he's doing something wrong."

What a guy, what a team mate, what a professional.

After the first 6:30 of this game looking so great I have to say this series is ing awesome.

LOL, 34 win season, 45 win season and 42 without Pau Gasol say hiiiiiiiiii ;D

As does the 2004 debacle and the 2008 embarrassment.

Go compare those to anything LeBron has done... because he certainly never won 34 games or lost an NBA Finals with Pau Gasol, Odom and Fisher on his roster. For the last 3 years he's lost to the eventual NBA Champion or runner up.

PS it's not Kobe as the solo leader, it's he and Fisher. AND PHIL JACKSON IS THEIR COACH.

www.lakersuniverse.com/kobe/kobe_bryant_stats200405.htm

Wow did anybody know the Lakers went 2-17 to finish the regular season when they had a chance to make the playoffs in 2004-2005? Kobe was the leader...

Sheed's gotta come back to Boston, once the playoffs started he got his attitude right. Gotta respect him for embracing the role player part.

I hope Allen hasn't used up everything in game 2.

He doesnt deserve correct spelling, someone who acts like a bitch like he does. Just looking at him makes me mad.

What a **** call, unbelievable.