FanHouse Linas Kleiza

So what's the word from Nuggets guard J.R. Smith on his seven-game suspension to start the season?

Well, actually there isn't one yet.

"The team said I'm not allowed to speak to nobody yet,'' Smith said Thursday, saying team officials have told him not to talk to the press until media day Sept. 25.

Smith was asked, though, if he at least wanted to make a comment on whether the suspension, handed down Aug. 28, was fair.

"You're trying to get me fined,'' Smith said.

Josh Childress started for an NBA team. Von Wafer played significant minutes on an NBA playoff team. Linas Kleiza once scored 41 points in an NBA regular season game (this ain't no summer league, man!) And they're all members of Olympiakos B.C.

Now since Childress decided to taste the awesome flavor of Dolmades, there has been no great exodus. However, that's now three NBA-quality players that aren't even the huge stars on OBC. Which begs a question. We know the NBA elite boast teams that could defeat them pretty handily, but how would Olympiakos do against the low of the NBA?

It's not that the Denver Nuggets didn't like Linas Kleiza -- George Karl liked him a lot -- but not enough to pay him twice. Not for a backup forward, no matter how intriguing his skills.

It's basic economics. The luxury tax struck again.

Kleiza, 24, just agreed to a two-year, $12.2 million deal with the Greek team Olympiakos, according to agent Bill Duffy. It was first reported on Yahoo!.

Kleiza wasn't getting much attention from other NBA teams because of his restricted free-agent status, with most believing the Nuggets would match any reasonable offer, so he turned his attention overseas.

LAS VEGAS -- FanHouse has confirmed that the Toronto Raptors are set to sign Indiana's Jarrett Jack to an offer sheet, likely as early as Monday. CBSsports.com's Ken Berger initially reported the Raptors were considering the move.

Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo wouldn't comment on the possibility of acquiring Jack, but during the course of an interview acknowledged the Raptors would like to address perimeter defense and backup point guard.

Earlier in the day, Raptors coach Jay Triano said the team struggled last season at that position after Jose Calderon went down with an injury.

The Nuggets far exceeded expectations this season. The team ranked not as the squad most likely to scare the snot out of the Lakers, but as the old guard least likely to return to the postseason in the New World.

Chauncey Billups, Nene, Kenyon Martin, Carmelo Anthony, George Karl, Chris Andersen, J.R. Smith and Joe Dumars changed that. The opening week trade for Mr. Big Shot completely transformed the spirit of the team, as did Karl's summer decision to focus on defense, even at the expense of his stars' allegiance. Everything else went right, for the most part.

But the franchise sit has payroll cuts to consummate, and little in the way of burgeoning youth to fill the holes. By trading the promise of cap space (in the convenient form of Allen Iverson) for Billups, the Nuggets trade a minor rebuild for contention. It worked -- the Nuggets were legit contenders. But what now? How can they possibly get better?

Cherry Picking recaps yesterday's NBA playoff action.

Three-point shots often play a critical role in an NBA playoff contest. But in Denver's win over the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, the threes that were made (and missed) by both teams came at such key moments, that they ended up defining this game.

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In many ways, Game 2 of the Western Conference finals was an exact replica of Game 1. Except in this one, the Nuggets and the Lakers seemed to switch roles, and Denver was the team celebrating a hard-fought, last-second victory as they left the court.

The Nuggets overcame a double-digit deficit early and ended up making the clutch plays down the stretch to get the split in Los Angeles, sending the series back to Denver tied at one game apiece.

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PHOENIX -- There was a playoff atmosphere at the US Airways Center for Monday night's game between the Suns and the Nuggets, and why not? For Phoenix, who now sits three games out of a playoff spot with just 12 remaining, every game is critical to keeping its slim postseason hopes alive. And the Suns were able to do just that, at least for one more game. In a wild one that went down to the wire, the Suns squeaked out a 118-115 victory over the Nuggets.

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Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

The Denver Nuggets are among the top teams in the West. Their success starts in the locker-room, where everyone gets along and chemistry is good. In this video, after the jump, the team's players share with us some of the nicknames they've given each other, including 730, Quack, Suite 200 and more.

Renaldo Balkman, who is known as "Kool," even shows us his one-of-a-kind tattoo.