Nick Smith Jr. seizes the opportunity to help Hornets

CHARLOTTE HORNETS

Rookie guard Nick Smith Jr.'s career-best 19 points was a bright spot for the Charlotte Hornets in a 102-95 loss to Denver Saturday at Spectrum Center.

‘Twas the night before Christmas Eve, when all through the house, not a Hornet was scoring, not even an ounce.

Remember the penultimate quarter against the Denver Nuggets if you dare, in hopes that Nick Smith Jr. would soon be there.

Unwrapping a career-best would’ve been sweeter with a comeback win, but on Saturday, the rookie proved his role with the Hornets was no mystery.

But enough with the rhyming. Smith, a late-first-round pick in the 2023 draft, knows his development is on Steve Clifford’s timing.

“My job as a professional is to go out there when my name is called,” Smith said. “If they send me to the G League, I’m going to go play. If they send me up, I’ll play up. It’s a learning year. I’m young, and I’ve got a lot of stuff to do in this league.

“This is an everyday process. It’s not something that you just get out of 20-something games. You’ve just got to keep going. Once they feel like it’s time to release that leash, y’all will see a difference, for sure.”

Due to an abundance of backcourt injuries, Smith’s leash was off in the final 12 minutes of Charlotte’s 102-95 loss. Following a near-historically bad third quarter where Charlotte was outscored by 21 points, totaling just nine points, and eclipsing a 10-minute span without a field goal, Smith got hot from beyond the arc.

“Nick scored 19 points on 12 shots,” Clifford said. “Now, that’s efficiency. He got us back in the game. He’s a shot maker, and tonight he got going. Hopefully, this can be the beginning of something (for him).”

Smith added 17 points in the game’s final quarter, tying the most for any rookie in the fourth quarter this season, and nearly overcame the Denver Nuggets’ double-digit advantage. The 6-foot-2 combo guard connected on consecutive three-pointers (5-of-7 for the game) to cut the Nuggets’ lead to three points, electrifying the Spectrum Center crowd.

“He played well,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Shot the ball well. He’s a really quick, shifty guard. He made some big, big shots to get them back in the game. You’ve got to give him a lot of credit with the confidence he played with. “It was impressive.”

Selected 27th overall, Smith’s path to this point can be likened to St. Nick’s sleigh route. A Jacksonville, Arkansas native, he was ranked as the No. 1 player in the 2022 class and elected to stay home, committing to Arkansas out of high school.

After just one season and 17 games under Eric Musselman, Smith declared for the draft in hopes his name would be called as a lottery pick. Sitting in the green room much longer than anticipated due to injury concerns with his right knee, Smith received a call from Hornets’ general manager Mitch Kupchak, that reunited him with Brandon Miller, an AAU teammate with the Bradley Beal Elite.

“We had him much higher in the draft,” said Kupchak. “He’s young, he’s got great size, he’s a shooter. In our league, that’s at a premium. We feel very fortunate to get Nick where we did.”
Donning the No. 8 jersey to honor favorite player Kobe Bryant (and because Terry Rozier has No. 3), Smith is known throughout the locker room for his work ethic.

“He’s confident, anyways. He doesn’t need a big boost,” Clifford said. “He’s one of the first guys in the gym. He’s a very committed player.”

Said forward P.J. Washington: “He’s been working his tail off the whole year just to get the opportunity. I’m proud of him. That’s just the beginning. He has a lot more to show. I’m just glad he’s on our team, and I can’t wait to see him continue to grow and flourish in this league.”

While Smith has shown flashes of his potential over his last five NBA games, he has seen two stints with the Hornets’ G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, playing in three games. Before the season, Smith expected to spend more time there, but injuries to LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Frank Ntilikina, and most recently Miller, have opened the door for 20-plus minutes for Smith in three of the past four Hornets games.

“Both can be helpful,” Smith said at the Hornets’ preseason media day. “For me as a rookie, there’s going to be some nights that I play five minutes, or I won’t play at all, or I might play 40 minutes in the G-League, or 40 minutes (with the Hornets).

“You get sent to the G-League for a reason, so you just got to take advantage of it and play as hard as you can and get better from it. Whenever my name is called, I’ll be ready.”
Despite Smith’s breakout performance, Clifford is pumping the brakes on the rookie becoming a key contributor.

“It’s one game,” Clifford said. “I can give you stories from my 20-plus years of guys who you haven’t heard of who had 28 points on a night. This happens. “These guys are all good. He’s got to get better at the other things so that the team functions well at the court.”

The Hornets get a couple of days off for Christmas prior to a six-game road trip to the West Coast, where Smith will play Beal, who is now with the Phoenix Suns. He just wants to hoop and contribute to winning basketball.
“For me, right now, it’s not about proving anybody wrong,” Smith said. “I’m trying to find a niche on this team and do anything I can to help the organization out.”

This story corrects the first name of Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone.

 

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