CHICAGO (AP) -Suspended for the season’s first seven games, Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith returned Tuesday with a new outlook and a different name.
He wants to go by his given name, Earl Smith III.
Smith says there are “a lot of personal reasons” that “I can’t really explain at this time” for the switch. He went with J.R. because he was often called “Junior,” but now he’s going back to his given name as part of an effort to fix an image that’s taken some hits over the years because of a poor driving record that resulted in the suspension.
Smith was expected to come off the bench against the Chicago Bulls in his first appearance after a tumultuous offseason.
Denver’s Kenyon Martin returned after missing a game with a bruised left fibula.
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