How about that J.R. Smith? After playing the NBA for five seasons, the Nuggets’ Smith will no longer be J.R., he’s changed his name to the one that was given to him at birth, Earl. Yes, the man who received the second most votes for the Sixth Man award last season will now be known as Earl Smith III.
It turns out that after serving a seven-game suspension to start the season, Smith wanted to change his ways and going by his real name is supposedly a sign of that.
The name change didn’t do too much to help Smith shed some rust last night; he went 1-for-9 from the field and 0-for-3 from three point land for five points in 29 minutes of play. The Nuggets were able to defeat the Bulls to keep their hot streak going, but Chicago hasn’t exactly roared out of the gate this season, sitting at 4-3.