Playing Style

[The Bandit]

The Nuggets were always a very high paced team under George Karl. With Brian Shaw replacing him, do you thin this pace and playing style will be altered much? Denver are set up to run, with a lot of athletes and playing at altitude. Do you see Shaw slowing them down a bit this year or will it be much of the same?

[josh_nuggets]

I think he could slow down a bit. Work on the half court game. But shaw said he wants to take advantage of the altitude and the fast pace roster

[The Bandit]

I hope they keep the pace up for McGee's sake. Speaking of whom, what sort of production do you expect out of Javale this year?

[DaFan334]

I see us slowing the pace down when running half court sets, something Karl really didn't do. JaVale might actually be helped by this as it will limit the effects of his asthma. He will have to improve his low post game. If he takes the next step needed, he could have a very good year. We have seen glimpses of a very dominant center but nothing for long spans of time and that needs to change for him to meet expectations. Hopefully Shaw can help him in this way.

[pickIBL]

we'll still be a run and gun team. I think we'll take a few less bad shots in transition and actually run something. But I'm not sure that is a good thing as we don't have the outside shooting or the post game. In the playoffs the games tend to slow down and be more about defensive and grinding it out. Denver is not made for that. We need outside shooting and a low post presence. With Faried and McGee out there I see problems getting it done on the block and neither can step out and shoot for that matter. And we also don't have a first/primary scorer.

The Nuggets have a lot of good pieces that fit okay as long as we a running and gunning in the regular season.

[pickaxe]

I always liked the idea of running constantly as the major feature of the game, but knowing when the offense has gone a bit cold and be 100% able to defend when the offense IS cold.

The only thing that really kills a fast paced offense is the inability to score for prolonged stretches. Yes, defense needs to happen throughout the game, but it really needs to kick in when there's a lid on the basket. Kind of like a hybrid vehicle, going to the gasoline when the electric needs a boost.

[corona]

we'll still be a run and gun team. I think we'll take a few less bad shots in transition and actually run something. But I'm not sure that is a good thing as we don't have the outside shooting or the post game. In the playoffs the games tend to slow down and be more about defensive and grinding it out. Denver is not made for that. We need outside shooting and a low post presence. With Faried and McGee out there I see problems getting it done on the block and neither can step out and shoot for that matter. And we also don't have a first/primary scorer.

The Nuggets have a lot of good pieces that fit okay as long as we a running and gunning in the regular season.

ummmm......if we get rid of andre miller, which is inevitable at this point....then every guard/wing player we have will be a shooter.

lawson - 38% career, 37% last year
foye - 38% career, 41% last year
fournier - 41% career
hamilton - 37% career
gallo - 37% career
chandler - 34% career, 41% last year
green - 39% last year in college

(and just as importantly...all those guys will let it fly if they're open. not much hesitation, except from lawson)

that's already a million times better than last year with iguodala bricking at 32%, andre miller unwilling to shoot outside 18 feet, corey brewer willfully gunning away at 29%, and koufos being a threat to do nothing outside 2 feet.

or years before with anthony carter, ray felton, gary forbes, joey graham, dahntay jones, linas kleiza, diawara, steve 'toe on the line' blake (before he learned how to shoot), earl boykins, dermarr johnson, rubben patterson....and the unforgettable greg buckner.

hell....if karl were still here, he'd have a hard time not playing a guard rotation that could shoot the basketball.

i mean if all those guys shoot like they have throughout their careers, we go from bottom 5 in the league at 34% to top 3-5 in the league at ~38%. it's not the warriors (who just lost jack shooting 40% and replaced him with iggy who's career is 32%)....but it's really good.

arthur & hickson are also two guys that if nothing else need to be guarded in the mid-range game, because they are capable of making them.

i also think having a real system in place on offense will help everyone be more successful, hopefully minimizing the need for a "first option" 20ppg scorer. everyone knowing where everyone else will be, what cuts will be made, screens will be set where, what options will come after certain stuff happens.....that goes a long ways towards providing consistent, quality shot attempts in the halfcourt for everyone. and now that we have shooting threats, the floor should open up more which will facilitate that success further.

compared to playground ball where everything's completely randomized, guys are making cuts that put their defender right into a perfect help situation on their teammates p&r attempt....corey brewer & andre miller are out there while the other team rests on defense in the paint. mcgees randomly posting up late in the shotclock while the guards are questioning whether to even give him the ball. etc

i'm rather excited to see what happens this season.

[RRFB]

We'll always be a running team and that's how it should be. We've got a natural advantage here that no one else has and it'd be silly not to take advantage of it. Especially with one of the fastest players in the league running the show and the way the rest of the roster is built.

The recent roster moves definitely prove that Shaw/Connelly are committed to implementing some type of half-court system. I'm excited to see how it pans out.

[pickIBL]

ummmm......if we get rid of andre miller, which is inevitable at this point....then every guard/wing player we have will be a shooter.

lawson - 38% career, 37% last year
foye - 38% career, 41% last year
fournier - 41% career
hamilton - 37% career
gallo - 37% career
chandler - 34% career, 41% last year
green - 39% last year in college

No argument on this point. Who will be a 3 and D guy for Denver @ the 2 spot is a big question. Foye isn't a good defender. Hamilton would have to show big improvement there. Fournier could be an option but will he take and make a lot of 3s and stretch the D as a starter... that is very much to be determined.

The Nuggets don't have a I can get mine half court guy and that could prove problematic in the playoffs. Having JJ in the post helps this year.

I'm not negative on the Nuggets as far as people saying they are taking big steps back. I just see issues in terms of contending.

Right now the top concerns are to get rid of Dre and finding a back up center. I can tell the FO plans to use Faried in trade talks.

[denvers_finest]

We'll always be a running team and that's how it should be. We've got a natural advantage here that no one else has and it'd be silly not to take advantage of it. Especially with one of the fastest players in the league running the show and the way the rest of the roster is built.

The recent roster moves definitely prove that Shaw/Connelly are committed to implementing some type of half-court system. I'm excited to see how it pans out.

Utah has the same advantage, and for most part have not been reliant on tempo. And, as much as it pains me to say, they have been far more successful over the years than the Nuggets.

I think the pace should be pushed when appropriate, but what we have seen the past 9 years with Karl (and for a decade in the 80s with Moe) while successful in the regular season simply doesn't translate to postseason success. Halfcourt offense and solid defense do.

[telso]

Interesting...

@bballSource: Just interviewed Brian Shaw about the triangle. Unfortunately, Nuggets won't run the pure triangle, but it lives!


@kingjames019: why wouldn't he run the pure triangle?
@bballSource: Because he wanted to get hired.

[corona]

said in a summer league interview that he was going to implement pieces of it and use the same type of spacing, but didn't want to limit ty lawsons strengths (since it's not a pg-dominant offense)

fine with me.