Brian Shaw Must Overcome Several Obstacles To Overcome Critics

Coaches don't make marketing plans.  Coaches do their best to justify them.  7 games into the season, the Denver Nuggets had only captured one win, but answered a million questions.

Strength In Numbers?  Give us a break.

Number one.  Scrap the stupid marketing plan because the only strength in numbers this season comes from the numbers on Coach Brian Shaw's eye test as he will need the eyesight to see through the forest of options and find the correct 6-8 players on any given night and insure they get proper playing time.  While actually playing legit defense, every NBA team could stand to go 10 deep, so long as those 4-5 backups realize they are serving a unique purpose.  For this rendition of the Denver Nuggets, the 4 totally realize their role, but it's the 6 that can't seem to get it together.

After receiving loss number 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers- another game that we could have won- I started to realize why the wheels on this car struggled with traction early on.  The 4 are better than the 6.  Watching this team play this season has been an interesting adventure, but watching who doesn't play at the end of games is beyond an adventure, it is a prelude to what every basketball player should respect most about the game of basketball.

The short jump shot has returned in the Nuggets draftee Erick Green

Basketball is not about starting, it is about the players who are on the court to finish the game. Despite the resurgence from the Bird/Magic-MIKE heyday of the 80's and 90's, smart basketball fans still do not stress themselves on the first 3 quarters of an NBA game because these quarter are inconsequential and often played that way. Coaches will start just about anybody with a team uniform, but only certain players will ever be trusted to handle the delicate duties of end game execution.  Alonzo Gee- one of the Denver Nuggets new Fantastic Four- has been closing out games from day one so we will leave his bio until the end.  Jusuf Nurkic, the second of  the noteworthy backups, began the season as the first off of the bench but earned an opportunity to close out a game against LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers before Timofey Mosgov, Javale McGee forced him back into hiding.  It may take another injury or a trade before we Nurkic returns to action, but he will return because Nurkic showed some things.

The best player Tom Izzo ever coached?

Nurkic needed the minutes and the opportunity to win the confidence of his coach while the Nuggets needed to figure out exactly what they have invested in as Nurkic is essentially the player who should have been Doug McDermott, the much applauded draft that Denver acquired for the Chicago Bulls.  Rookie guard Erick Green, the third fabulous backup, quickly won the confidence of his coach and should have also closed against the Cavs, but Brian Shaw played it safe by reinserting Aaron Afflalo to finish the game.  Inserting Afflalo to close took the ball out of the hands of a hot player with a solid short jump shot, and it probably cost the Nuggets a win that night.  In the end, it also exposed everyone to the skill set of a couple of strong draft pickups.

By "everyone" I mean the players who are playing in front of these up and coming stars.  Randy Foye showed up big during the losing stretch, especially given the slow start of Ty Lawson, but he is a strong player that remains a backup at the shooting guard and a double backup at point so long as Nate Robinson remains an unusual Nugget to figure out.

Will Jusuf Nurkic make Nuggets fans forget Doug McDermott?

Robinson could be a good addition to any game at a moment suited for his specialized skills, but playing for any team that needs ball movement or focused leadership is half of the challenge for Robinson, recovering from injuries has been the rest. Early injuries- both physical and perhaps mental- left Ty Lawson as a super no-show, so super backup guard Foye proved long term value, even if it didn't translate into victories.  Injuries and various suspensions  have actually been good for this team because Shaw needed to be able to retain his job by limiting public criticism and not simply justify marketing. No matter how perfectly he is executing the front office expectations, fans of this team are still sore over the firing of George Karl, whose 50 game regular season win standard has cast a shadow over everything considered a defiance to the Karl era.

The next generation of Nuggets don't actually need much skill development, they only need minutes.  Gary Harris and Erick Green already have more offensive courage than Lawson, who has to be constantly reminded to force his will, and his game, upon the competition.  When Lawson is right, he is an extra special player.  When Lawson is wrong- again, he makes the Nuggets coaching staff realize that Nuggets basketball will not work without an engine to drive the car. But does the front office share this assessment?

Aaron Aaflalo could prove to be a positive re-acquisition, but he is not quite as young as he used to be, so his vaunted defense is not aided by youthful legs like the players that are threatening to steal his minutes.  Aaflao's scoring behavior remains limited by an erratic and flat jumper or the hope of a sleeping defense that will let him finish at the rim.  He refuses to shoot the pull-up jumper because his shot is way too flat for consistent success at that range, so driving and passing is the only choice his game offers him. Erick Green plays a lot like coach  Shaw played on offense, with a deadly short jump shot that makes room for every other aspect of his offensive attack. Gary Harris is described by Tom Izzo, his former Michigan State coach, as "the best player he ever coached", and both his offensive and defensive intensity explains why.  Wilson Chandler and Aaron Aaflalo have suddenly started to play better and it seems to have coincided with the unveiling of their potential replacements, Green and Harris.

Coach Shaw could do his best impersonation of Aaron Rogers or LeBron James and tell Denver fans to relax, but without consistency at point guard- and the lingering need to discover if Danilo Galinari will ever live up to the promise- Shaw can't do much relaxing himself.  The miserable starting team consistently gives Shaw justification to sit a couple of those deadbeats at the end of the games in exchange for smarter defenders or more confident players.  Having capable backups has forced the entire team to play smarter, harder and with more confidence which has turned the tide for Denver, but how long can you execute a plan in which your best players are held to the final moments of the game while your starters dig a hole for their backups to fix?

In reality, nothing replaces a hearty appetite and some of the Nuggets simply haven't played hungry for a while.  Alonzo Gee is a journeyman who saw his chance to eat and gobbled up a job for himself. Jusuf Nurkic, Erick Green and Gary Harris are young, hungry and capable of pushing the starters to do number 2 or be number 2.  What concerns me is whether the concerned starters can remain focused on the mission without letting concern for their jobs be the key motivation.  Gee forced Quincy Miller out the door simply because he is hungry and he can defend anybody. Shaw consistently calls on Gee for tough defensive assignments and end game defensive pressure. If the Nuggets are succeeding it is because the heat is on the starters and the newbies are ready to eat.

Hungry players must be fed while the well fed must be reminded of what it means to be hungry. As for the marketing plan?  "Strength In Numbers" sounds like a great marketing plan, but it is likely an advertisement of players whose days in the Nugget uniform will be dictated by how well the coach inspires and markets the talent.

If Shaw can groom the future, groom and prepare the excess cattle for market and actually win enough games to justify his understanding of winning in the NBA, he will have accomplished a lot for Denver and for the future hopes of winning a crown.  If he finally silences the Karl loving critics of his, he will surely be the last man standing, smiling on the stage with the crown in hand.