The Vote Is In. Brian Shaw: Coach of the Year




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  Carmelo Anthony returned to his original NBA town, but it was the Nuggets not the Knicks, who pulled off a 97-95 victory. The game probably shouldn't have been close at all because 'black hole' Melo showed up to the game. Despite losing 8 games in a row, Melo's personal stats are up this season.  His 27 pts. (no assist) included 11 pts. from free throws but a key miss late that could have forced OT . Ty Lawson on the other side had another excellent game scoring 22 pts. (8 assists)  with minimal shots taken. As I watched I could not help but think about Melo reminiscing on what could have been.

       Now, I realize that some of the Nuggets that beat on the Knicks last night used to be Knicks and came via the trade for Melo. Without the Carmelo trade we don't have  Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mosgov or injured Danilo Galinari, king of the late game free throw. Yet, the most important element  was sitting on the Nuggets bench with a coy smile and a suit.

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      After just 15 games as the Head Coach of the Denver Nuggets, I am convinced that Brian Shaw is noticeably better than George Karl. He has a demeanor that lets the guys feel free to try the things on offense that they've worked on at practice. There is only one obvious way to piss him off.  Don't defend and rebound.....That's it. His demand of defense and rebounding allows for offensive looseness. He never looks like he is second guessing a players decisions and he gives them the latitude to fix it on the court. His play selection is creative and players are executing plays with precision and gaining confidence knowing exactly where the shot/s should come from.

       Last night against the Knicks I could hear (from my radio) as the Nuggets yelled "same play" when a near perfect execuion of a previous play did not result in a bucket.  I was impressed at the confidence these Nuggets must have to essentially say, "you can't stop what we are running".  They forced the Knicks to overplay what they had just saw and took the next option to score with Randy Foye, clearly the result of a team working on the same page. In the helter skelter style of Karl, movement (pass and cut- drive and kick) was often the play and the window on shots opened and closed faster than young players could take advantage of.....which is why he rarely played young players.

       Shaw is an avid fisherman who seems to be fishing and searching each game to identify hot players  while systematically baiting them all into his style of play. He does a lot of catch and release with young guys along the way giving them the time and opportunity to grow into a prized catch. With Evan Fournier and Jordan Hamilton it is so obvious that he has way more confidence in them than they currently have in themselves and that both will reward his confidence soon. If you are going good under Shaw, you will not only be played accordingly, you will be benched appropriately to squeeze maximum value out of your game that day.  In the chess match that is the NBA, line-ups are a big part of it and Shaw plays this to a tee.

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       Under Shaw, starting is insignificant because he will ride a different line-up every night at the close of the half and to close the game. Under Karl, it felt like a fishing expedition hoping to find 5 keepers to close out games.  He usually gave in to sour-face starters or big mouth asses that would cost us victories. Shaw understands what all winners know; that all games will be won or lost on a couple of end game decisions, so he saves Andre Miller  to help make and demonstrate those end game decisions.  Miller can relax until needed under Shaw  because he is doing what Shaw also did as an NBA vet.

       In contrast, Shaw has empowered veteran Nate Robinson to help cultivate Ty Lawson into an All-Star by making the fearless Robinson simulate the style of game that he needs Lawson to perfect. To further satisfy the eager Robinson, he will also put him alongside Lawson to free him up for scoring.  While he is always happy to ride Nate's  hot hand, his ultimate goal with Nate is to turn him into a better end game decision maker and not just an end game assassin (who sometimes kills his own team).

       The Brian Shaw's Nug's  defend better.  By better (@SexyGeorgeKarl) I mean getting the rebound that turns defense into offense.  To Karl's credit, he actually did preach both defense and rebounding, but often looked like he had indigestion on the bench as he frequently got neither at the same time.  A few Denverites  (Vic Lombardi) have resorted to complaining about the lost entertainment value of the former run game.   These Nug's actually run smarter than they ever did under Karl by passing ahead  and then utilizing 1 or 2 secondary trailers to insure points off the break and not just spill out dunks which dry up at the end of games. Karl's teams often tried to out dribble opponents or would run too often and diminish the value while killing their own stamina as well. 

        Nobody disputes that they are better than expected. The question that we all have and can't fully answer yet is..... "How good is this team"?  Last night Melo had that same question. He stared longingly at his old flame Ty Lawson's progression and wished his new steady Raymond Felton could actually get to the hole, much less blow by someone. He had to look curiously at that Manimal guy, Kenneth Faried, who he would love to have as a clean up man for all those missed shots he still puts up. Moreover, I am sure that he remembers that George Karl scowl  every time he looks into the droopy eye'd glare of his current coach Mike Woodson.  If the hand Melo shakes before the game is George Karl he would never imagine a return to Denver.  After the coaching eexhibition of Brian Shaw last night Melo had to be thinking what we all are thinking....."How good is this guy"?





Can I get an autograph coach?

  
What we know about Shaw is that he was an excellent, yet understated player in this league. He has  championship pedigree (with the Celtics and then the Lakers) and was a key element in those teams success. What we did not know was how that great player with such a quiet demeanor would do as a coach. So much trepidation existed behind that question that he had to wait to get his chance at coaching.

The fans of Denver should thank God.

Brian Shaw is the real deal and will narrowly beat out his old boss Frank Vogel ( @PacersCoach ) and make the Nuggets ( @denvernuggets ) the first team in history to fire and hire the back to back Coach of theYear....SquareBiz.



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