Let’s take it as a sign of respect that the Denver Nuggets’ upcoming season will be tough, including back-to-back games on the first and second nights. The Nuggets open at 8:30 p.m. on October 28 in Denver against the Utah Jazz, then head to Portland to play the Trailblazers the next night (via The Denver Post).

The Denver Stiffs point out that the Nuggets will play 22 back-to-backs, the most of any team in the Western Conference. By comparison, the Los Angeles Lakers will play 19 back-to-backs.

The Nuggets will need all hands on deck for these games, including enigmatic two-guard J.R. Smith, who might be trying to win the award for dumbest player in the NBA. Smith, fresh off 24 days in jail in connection with killing his friend in a reckless driving accident, chose to go where we all go when we’re trying to get our lives on track: Vegas.

From Sin City, he spewed a litany of Twitter posts, like “got to change hotels…the palms won’t let me hook my xbox up,” and “People please watch what you say on here it gets me in a lot of trouble” (via The Denver Post).

In a separate story, the Post reports that Smith used the letter “K” in words that were supposed to have a “C,” a trait of the Bloods street gang (or maybe just poor spelling skills). His Twitter page is no longer active, and we can only hope that someone close to him is trying to keep him out of his own way.

Smith isn’t the only one who’ll be cutting out the social networking. The New York Times reports that ESPN employees are no longer allowed to tweet unless it serves the interests of ESPN. Sorry, “tweeps.”