Nov 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler (21) looses control of the ball during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Before last night’s game against Portland, I think most Denver Nuggets fans were feeling a little nervous. After a season-opening win against the Detroit Pistons, the Nuggets had dropped five straight and found themselves in the basement of the Western Conference. Of course, the season is still young, so most fans were trying not to freak out, despite the fact that the Nuggs weren’t just losing, but were doing so as a result of about the worst combination imaginable for an NBA team: terrible shooting and even worse defense. But last night saw the Trail Blazers rolling into town having played about as many basketball games in five days as is humanly possible, so it looked like Denver had a chance to get their second win, calm fans’ nerves, and start to figure this season out.
Instead, they gave up 84 points to Portland in the first half, ended up losing by a score of 130-113, and got booed off their home court by fans who were justifiably disgusted by what they had just witnessed.
I’ve got bad news for you, Nuggets fans: It’s time to panic.
What we saw last night was a team with no answers, comprised of a roster of players who are producing very little on the court but making a lot of money, and led by a coach who certainly appears to have lost his team just seven games into the season and increasingly looks like he is in over his head. If that isn’t a reason to panic, I don’t know what is.
Granted, not every player on the Nuggets roster is to blame. Ty Lawson never seemed to quit last night, putting up 32 points on 11 of 17 shooting while playing nearly 42 minutes. J.J. Hickson turned in a second-straight solid performance against his former team, contributing 14 points and 11 boards as his effort was rewarded with extended minutes in the second half. And Alonzo Gee never gave up on the defensive end of the court.
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But the same can’t be said for the team’s other “big names.” Kenneth Faried, who was rewarded with a big contract this offseason, continues to give his detractors plenty of ammunition to make a case for the Nuggets making a big mistake by backing up the money truck to his door. He was active as always, but it’s becoming painfully obvious that while Faried can grab more than his fair share of rebounds, he’s becoming a defensive liability against 4s who can shoot AND against big bodied dudes who have more than a couple of moves with their backs to the basket. Arron Afflalo, the Nuggets lone big free agent acquisition this offseason, completely disappeared last night, playing just 10 minutes and contributing just 4 points. Wasn’t he supposed to bring scoring and defense to this year’s squad? So far, he hasn’t shown a whole lot of either. And the center position is an absolute mess right now. I want Timofey Mozgov to be the anchor in the middle for the Nuggets, but so far he hasn’t done anything to establish himself in that role on a consistent basis. JaVale McGee barely saw the floor last night, for whatever reason, but I doubt increased minutes for the enigmatic center would have been the solution Denver needed. And I understand that rookie Jusuf Nurkic is still too raw at this point to earn substantial minutes, but you can’t argue that the kid at least plays at full speed whenever he’s on the court and finds a way to produce in limited action (last night he posted 6 points and 5 rebounds in just 6 minutes on the floor). Shaw seems completely baffled at finding a rotation for his bigs, going so far as to give Hickson considerable minutes at the center position last night, just to further muddy the waters.
The worst part of this whole mess is that we, as fans, were promised something better. After suffering through last season when injuries benched many of the team’s most recognizable faces for long stretches, GM Tim Connelly and Head Coach Brian Shaw sure seemed optimistic this offseason, telling fans whenever they had the opportunity that this season would be different, better. That the Nuggets were a team committed to bringing winning basketball back to Denver. To returning to the playoffs. To leveraging one of the deepest benches in the league to run opponents off the court. To creating a blueprint for how to win in this league without a true superstar.
Instead, what we’ve got so far is a team that lacks either ability or heart or both. A team that, at best, doesn’t seem to understand Brian Shaw’s strategy, or, at worst, has already tuned him out, knowing that it’s a lot easier for a team in this league to part ways with a coach than it is to send a player packing.
So what’s the solution? I’m not entirely sure. The easy move is to fire Brian Shaw, but I’m not sure that solves the entire problem. There are several players on this roster that would be attractive to other teams as part of a trade because they have smaller or soon-to-be expiring contracts. We can hold out hope that, somehow, the team solves the riddle of their poor early season performance and pulls it together before the season is a complete waste. And there’s always the option of simply riding the season out and hoping for a top draft pick to try to bring in a young potential star to rebuild around. We’ll be discussing the merits and likelihood of each of those options over the next few days.
In the meantime, regardless of what other talking heads and “professional” Nuggets pundits tell you, folks, the time to panic is now. This team is broken — maybe hopelessly so — and with a three-game road trip getting underway tomorrow night in Indiana, it looks like things could get a lot darker before we see a light at the end of the tunnel.