(Jack Dempsey, AP)
Here’s hoping Brian Shaw enjoyed a nice meal and a good night’s sleep Thursday night. He should after getting his first regular season victory in four tries as the new Nuggets coach last night in the Nuggets’ 109-107 victory over the Hawks at the Pepsi Center.
The first win did not come easy for him. Every time the Nuggets would make a shot in the fourth quarter, the Hawks would answer with a shot of their own in what was a back-and-fourth game in the final few minutes of the quarter.
Fortunately for Shaw, the Hawks missed shots in the final minutes and the Nuggets held on to the victory. He can focus on getting his team back to .500 along with getting his guys to figure out his halfcourt offense.
The rookie coach did not envision his team would start off bad offensively, and he sure did not think they would not get off to a rough start in the standings. This has been a tough initiation for him.
There was no question the Nuggets would have had a hard time adapting to the halfcourt offense after getting used to running up-and-down on offense under George Karl. Folks wondered if the team has the players to run the halfcourt offense.
Already, there were rumblings about Ty Lawson not being happy about the offense since it does not showcase his strengths. He wants to be in a position to score from the uptempo offense. He is not enamored about being facilitator.
The halfcourt offense features more on the big men than guards, and that’s why it has been a struggle since the Nuggets guards love to score.
It’s surprising Shaw would run the halfcourt offense. One would think he would be smart enough to tailor the offense on the players’ strength, which is running up-and-down. It’s clear he has so much to learn about the roster after thinking his players would be good enough to run the offense.
JaVale McGee, J.J. Hickson, Kenneth Faried and Timofey Mozgov are serviceable players, but they are not guys a coach would trust to score in crunch time. They get exposed after playing so many minutes, as they get worn down by the minutes. They are not good enough where they can dominate the game for long. One would think Shaw would know this after watching tapes of those guys since he took the job.
Yes, it’s three games, but it’s obvious this new offense has not worked so far. There are too many turnovers when guys are running it. Guys seem hesitant when they have the ball. It’s clear they are not happy about running the offense.
Shaw is not giving up this early, though. He feels it’s going to work once guys get used to running it. For him, it’s a matter of trust and repetition. It sounds like a cliché right now, though.
What Shaw needs is Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari to come back soon. At least, those two have the athleticism and size to score, not to mention the ability of playing well for 30 or more minutes. When they return is anyone’s guess.
Until they come back, it’s going to be a struggle for this team to run an offense that is not tailor-made for them no matter how hard Shaw tries to make.
The neophyte head coach has to get the most out of his point guard in Ty Lawson. This is where his focus should be. For all intents and purposes, the Nuggets point guard is the guy on offense when it comes to making big shots. He has to make sure his star is engaged in the game. He has to trust his guard to be the guy that takes the shots.
Lawson made shots down the stretch in engineering the Nuggets’ win. He gave the Nuggets a 103-102 lead on a jump shot, and he hit a three-pointer to extend their lead to 107-102. He finished it off by hitting two free throws in helping the Nuggets to hold on to a 108-106 lead.
Getting the most of his point guard is why Shaw is hired. That’s where his focus should be while he waits for Chandler and Galiinari to come back.
The Nuggets finally have their first victory out of their way, but there’s work to do until they are on track.
Poor Shaw can’t even have a day to enjoy this victory with the Nuggets playing the Suns tonight out in Phoenix.
Maybe winning two in a row tonight can give Shaw a nice frame of mind if his guard can take control of the offense like he did last night.
The Nuggets’ win was great for Shaw just for the sake of getting their first win out of the way. He does not have to answer questions when will the first win come.
That said, he can’t rest easy until his players start performing well on offense on a consistent basis.
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Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
