The Denver Nuggets enter the All-Star break at 20-33. They are 11th in the Western Conference and only eight and half games out of the last playoff spot. It’s been a tough year so far. The Nuggets have had many losing streaks throughout the course of this season. In November they had a losing skid of six games straight. December wasn’t much better losing seven out of eight to start the month. They had a string of seven straight defeats in January. Heading into the All-Star break they
only have one win in seven games. Is this really Coach Brian Shaw’s fault?
The head coach usually receives the blame for a team not living up to expectations. They are also praised when they take a team far in the playoffs. Shaw has yet to make the Nuggets a playoff team. Last year, in his first year, he coached them to 36 wins and 46 losses. This year the Nuggets are on pace for a worse record. Nuggets management said that they are going to stick with Shaw until the end of the year. Shaw is trying to build a winning organization but it can’t all be on him.
The players aren’t playing well. Offensively they score an average of 100.7 points per game. That is 12th in the NBA. The free throw line is where they need to improve. Their free throw percentage is 74%. That’s not horrible but not decent. It ranks 23rd out of 30 teams.
Defensively the Nuggets are weak. They give up 104.1 points per game tying Sacramento for 26th. Only Phoenix, Minnesota, and the L.A. Lakers are worse.
Denver isn’t scoring or defending, as they should. Isn’t that the coach’s job? The old saying is “coaches coach and players play”. This year neither one is happening for Denver. How can Denver play better?
They need to start playing as a team. Too many times this year it’s been stand around and shoot the ball. This type of offense has led them to where they are in the standings. Denver can be a much better basketball team if they work it down low or pass it around for a good shot. The teams that make the playoffs usually take high percentage shots.
On the defensive end, too many times players were out of position when guarding the opponent. That makes for easy baskets and wide open three’s. They don’t switch. What needs to happen is more communication. They also need to do a better job on the glass and not allow second chance opportunities. Those kill any basketball team.
The only way the Nuggets can turn the season around is playing sound defense. They also need to buy into what Brian Shaw is telling them. It seems most games they do whatever they want on the basketball court. If the poor play continues, Shaw may not be the head coach in Denver much longer.
How can the Denver Nuggets improve?
It can’t all be on the coach. It seems they need to get back to
basics.