With so many changes on the Lakers roster and coaching staff, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw cited that as a reason that it was just another game prior to coaching against his old team last night. That’s a good one by him. Shaw must wonder what it would be like to be Lakers head coach.
Shaw spent several years playing for the Lakers, and he joined Phil Jackson’s coaching staff with the Lakers after his playing career ended. He was passed over for Mike Brown when the Lakers searched for another coach after Jackson announced he was done coaching them several years ago.
Being the competitor he is, there’s no way last night was another game for him. It was a ridiculous cliché statement at best. He wanted this game, and the Nuggets made him happy by executing well offensively for four quarters in their 111-99 victory over the Lakers.
After the game, Shaw said he wanted to win every game regardless of who it is. Whatever.
The rookie Nuggets coach has every reason to be bothered that he was passed over for the Lakers job. He paid his dues learning from Jackson, and he had the respect of players like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. He knew how to run the triangle offense. He knew the expectations of being a Lakers coach. He was the best fit from his perspective.
Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss wanted a clean state from the Jackson era, and he wanted an experienced coach to coach the Lakers. He did not feel a rookie coach was ready for the spotlight.
That’s fine, but why would he hire Brown of all coaches? The former Lakers coach was not a good offensive coach, and there were questions how he would get along with Bryant after LeBron James was not crazy about his coaching. Plus, this head coach was coaching a small-market team in Cleveland, so to expect him to handle ridiculous expectations in Los Angeles did not make sense.
Brown’s tenure was a forgettable one as Lakers coach. His 42-29 record and his team being eliminated in the second round in his first season was not enough to satisfy the Lakers fans. His problem was Bryant never respected him as head coach. Plus, he was not a good offensive coach.
Shaw felt he could have done better as Lakers coach. One would expect him to feel that way being that he is a competitor.
Truth be told, the Lakers did him a favor in not hiring him. It’s hard to know what being an assistant to Jackson is. Hard to do much when the Lakers have the best players out there. Jackson was more involved with the practices and shootaround. The only Lakers assistant coach that did most of the work was Tex Winter, who coordinated the triangle offense.
Shaw needed to be an assistant coach for some team for other teams to find out what he is really about, and he had that opportunity with the Pacers.
He showed that he is a legitimate coach with his work as Pacers assistant coach. He spent lot of time working with Paul George and Lance Stephenson, and those two turned out to be better players with him working with their game. The Pacers improved as a result. That was why he became a coaching candidate for couple of teams.
The Nuggets believe Shaw is the right guy at the right time in overseeing this team’s future based on his work with the Pacers. That’s why he is the coach now.
It’s been a rough go for the Nuggets coach, but last night was the first time his team executed the halfcourt offense smoothly. Timofey Mozgov, Wilson Chandler and Kenneth Faried combined to score 56 points for the Nuggets. Those three were able to score in the paint often in this contest. It’s what Shaw envisions from his big men every game. Who knows if it’s going to work often? Still, last night was encouraging.
Despite the Nuggets’ early struggles, Shaw is happy to be coaching them. He knows there are only 30 teams out there, and getting a head coaching job is hard to get.
Still, he wonders what could have been if he was the Lakers coach. No one can blame him. It’s human nature.
He knows Lakers will always attract the best players to play for them when one looks at their success and the market they play in. Dwight Howard was the exception, but that speaks more of how soft he is to not handle Los Angeles.
With the Nuggets, it’s not going to be easy for him to get stars to play for them. He will try to make it work. He knows it’s possible to win a title based on what the Spurs accomplished as a small-market team. He has to find a way as a coach. That’s what he was hired to do.
Maybe his success in Denver will be good enough for him to coach the Lakers one day.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter
Related articles across the web
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.
