It’s Time for the Denver Nuggets and Brian Shaw to “Part Ways”

Jan 31, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw addresses the media after the game against the against the Charlotte Hornets at Pepsi Center. The Hornets won 104-86. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

How long are the Denver Nuggets going to continue with this farce? In a season filled with lows, they may have finally hit rock bottom on Saturday night. Although this is the Nuggets, so a new low can’t be that far away.

The Nuggets somehow managed to lose at home to the Charlotte Hornets, a team that was eight games below .500 and without their leading scorer. Not only did the Nuggets lose at home to one of the dregs of the NBA, they got hammered.

The Nuggets were down by 32 points at halftime and went into the break with only 30 points on the scoreboard. There are good high school teams that would have scored more than 30 points in the first half on Saturday night.

The team is poorly put together and the players are overrated by the front office, but it’s time for Head Coach Brian Shaw to be shown the door. It won’t cure all that ails the Nuggets but it’s a start.

Shaw was widely considered the hot, up and coming coach and it appeared to be a coup for the Nuggets when they hired him. However he has turned into the Josh McDaniels of the NBA, and somehow they both ended up in Denver.

There were many who could not understand why Shaw kept getting passed over for jobs if he was so well respected. Well now we know. He has shown zero leadership ability and his substitution patterns are head scratching.

When Shaw was hired, he told everyone that the way the Nuggets had played the year before would not win in the playoffs and that they had to change. Keep in mind, the Nuggets won 57 games the season before Shaw arrived. He won 36 in his first season and won’t even get to 30 in his second.

It was his intention to get the Nuggets to play a half-court game that would win in the playoffs. The problem is if you don’t make the playoffs, then why does it matter how you play? After getting off to a horrific start last season, Shaw’s first, he decided to let the Nuggets run and they won a few games. They still finished well out of the playoffs and had no direction.

This season has been a complete disaster from day one and Shaw has done nothing to right the ship.

The Nuggets don’t have the talent to win on a consistent basis and maybe that’s not Shaw’s fault, but the effort is a direct reflection on him. The Nuggets were disinterested and lifeless in a winnable game on Saturday night, and that IS on Shaw. The Nuggets were coming home after another embarrassing 30 point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, and should have been chomping at the bit to play. Instead, fans were exposed to one of the worst home performances in franchise history.

Shaw has never embraced Denver and always gave off the vibe like coaching the Nuggets was beneath him. From day one he seemed to almost go out of his way to make enemies, just like McDaniels. He ripped George Karl who had led the Nuggets to the playoffs every season he was in Denver, and then he took a shot at John Elway. He criticized Elway for releasing Champ Bailey and questioned his ability to lead. That’s rich coming from a coach who can’t get out of his own way; while Elway continues to lead a team that contends every season.

Maybe Shaw will be a good head coach in a different situation but it’s not going to be here. The Nuggets are a long way from being any good and maybe they never will be, but they have to make some changes.

And it starts with showing Shaw the door.