Nuggets president Josh Kroenke and a good portion of Nuggets fans wanted a coach who can run a halfcourt offense this offseason. The question will be whether or not first-time Head Coach Brian Shaw can bring it to Denver with success.
Last night had to be tough to watch after they saw the Nuggets execute their new offense in their first regular season game of the season.
The Nuggets had a hard time executing their halfcourt offense in their season opener against the Kings, and that was why Shaw did not have a victorious debut after their 90-88 loss to the Kings at Sleep Trans Arena.
Watching the Nuggets execute their halfcourt offense was like watching group of people executing a Chinese fire drill. There was no trust among teammates. They couldn’t pass the ball well. They had no idea when to shoot. They were passive and confused.
There was frustration in the end when JaVale McGee screamed at Evan Fournier for not giving the ball to him for the final possession. That summed up the night in a nutshell for the Nuggets.
No one said it was going to be easy for the Nuggets to adapt in a new offense. To expect the Nuggets to shine out of the gate last night was asinine.
The Nuggets hired Shaw to get the most out of J.J. Hickson, Timofey Mozgov and McGee by making them the focal point of the halfcourt offense being the big men they are. Those three had an opportunity to show what they can do last night, and they were okay at best.
Hickson and Mozgov did good things when they had the ball by combining for 22 points in this offense. That’s not bad.
McGee had a rough go of it by scoring four points in 10 minutes.
Shaw even had Anthony Randolph involved in the offense, but the power forward gave the Nuggets a measly two points in 15 minutes. No wonder why his teammates did everything they could to avoid giving him the ball.
It was interesting Kenneth Faried was coming off the bench rather than be the guy that would be an integral part of the halfcourt offense. It was clear Shaw trusts Hickson than Faried based on his ability to grab offensive rebounds and executing the pick-and-roll offense.
That means Faried is going to be a bench player for awhile, and it could mean he is trade bait eventually.
While the Nuggets have big guys, it remains to be seen if they can be guys that can be effective for 38 or more minutes. For the team to execute Shaw’s offense, McGee, Hickson and Mozgov have to score at least 15 to 20 points apiece each game. They also have to be the go-to guys in the fourth quarter. From watching those three play, it’s hard to think they can be those guys.
Part of running a half-court offense is executing it in the fourth quarter. That’s why it was troubling to see the Nuggets’ big men struggling to score in that quarter last night when it mattered. The Kings forced the Nuggets to turn the ball over four times in that quarter.
Go ahead and talk about it’s one game. Preach about It’s going to take awhile until these guys are comfortable. Sell people that it may take until January for the Nuggets to figure it out.
That said, what if the Nuggets don’t have guys that can do it? That’s something Shaw and the front office have to think about sooner or later.
From watching Hickson, McGee and Mozgov, their history of being inconsistent as players should raise that question about being dependable when it comes to operating the halfcourt offense. No one can blame fans if they have questions about three of the Nuggets’ big men.
It could be the Nuggets may have to draft a big man or make a trade that eventually fit Shaw’s offense. Conventional wisdom says it takes new players to come in and execute a new offense than players who are used to playing a style that they had success with. In the case of the Nuggets, their guards are used to running an up-tempo offense.
For better or for worse, the Nuggets will be committed to running this new offense for the next three months.
Their play and their record in the next few months will determine whether or not the halfcourt offense is going to be a success. Until then, it won’t be smooth sailing. There are going to be good nights and bad nights.
The Nuggets should hope they don’t have games like last night 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.