Nov 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Pepsi Center. The Trail Blazers won 130-113. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
As has been noted on this blog numerous times early in the 2014-2015 NBA season, the Denver Nuggets are struggling mightily out of the box. But last night’s humiliating 130-113 loss to the Trailblazers is the bottom of the barrel. And we have only seen this team play 8 games! The effort, performance, level of caring about the game’s outcome, among other things too many to list, show that this Nuggets team has hit rock bottom. Not only did they give up 84 points in the first half, but they gave up 84 points in the first half to a team that was playing in the second game of back-to-backs and had travelled from the Pacific Time Zone Tuesday arriving in Denver early Wednesday morning. The Nuggets on the other hand had been resting AND practicing since they lost to the Blazers in Portland on Sunday night. The Nuggets looked like the tired team playing on consecutive nights. The Blazers continually beat the Nuggets to offensive rebounds and loose balls. They virtually never gave the Nuggets a second shot in any possession, and they hit free throws like their legs were fresh and rested.
The blame for this pathetic effort goes to everyone in the Nuggets organization. From Tim Connelly to Brian Shaw and the Coaching Staff as well as the players. It was an embarrassment as a Nuggets fan to watch the “Highlights” on the various recap shows all over cable TV last night. It was almost a joke to the talking heads. So much so that ESPN’s Avery Johnson said he should come out of retirement to play against the Nuggets because he “could score against that team.” One thing that struck me as irritating last night is after the game we did not see any true anger in coach Shaw’s postgame presser. I think as fans, we want the players and coaches to be as pissed off about this crappy start as we are. I did not really get that from Shaw after the game. He said the right things about terrible defense and lack of effort but it was window dressing. He showed the same amount of emotion that he does on the sidelines….None!
This team has a lot of work to do to get themselves righted or this is going to be 82 games of hell for Nuggets fans far and wide. Being a fan since 1975, I think this team’s start is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. This rivals the 1997-1998 team coached by Bill Hanzlik that won 11 games all season. The difference between Hanzlik’s team and this one is that the 1997-1998 Nuggets had TWO, count ’em, TWO legitimate NBA players in an injured Laphonso Ellis and Bryant Stith. This team has a roster that boasts at least 7 players that many teams in the league would like to have as starters or coming off the bench. (Faried, Lawson, Gallinari, Afflalo, Mozgov, Chandler, Foye) If this team continues to underperform in the manner it has in the first 8 games, Brian Shaw will not be a head coach in the NBA for long and a lot of players are going to be looking for work. George Karl is probably having a good laugh about this development.
Here is a list of the worst records in Denver Nuggets franchise history. I remember each and every one of these teams and seasons. These were NOT fun years to be a Nuggets fan.
1990-1991- 20-62 (Paul Westhead’s first season as coach)
1991-1992- 24-58 (Paul Westhead’s second, and last season as coach)
1996-1997- 21-61 (Bernie Bickerstaff was fired after 13 games and this is the year after the Nuggets let Dikembe Mutombo walk as a Free Agent)
1997-1998- 11-71 (3rd worst record in the history of the NBA and the only season coached by Bill Hanzlik)
1998-1999- 14-36 (Strike shortened season with a team led by Nick Van Excel, who is a legitimate NBA player and coached by Mike D’Antoni)
2001-2002- 27-55 (Dan Issel returned as coach and was fired after only 26 games for shouting a racial slur at a fan and Mike Evans took over for the rest of the season)
2002-2003- 17-65 (Coached by the infamous Jeff Bzdelik and led by a valiant Juwan Howard, Marcus Camby and Nene Hilario, but they were the only legitimate NBA players on that roster)
Are we headed for a season like one of these? I can’t imagine with the talent that it appears the Nuggets have, that they could be as bad as any of those teams. But the way this season is starting and the look of the team from an effort perspective makes me wonder if tanking may not be on the mind of some in the Nuggets front office later in the season to improve their draft position. We will see, but this has been damn hard to watch so far!