5 NBA coaches on the hot seat
By Seth Partnow
BRIAN SHAW
Brian Shaw’s first year as a head coach was a rocky one. With injuries knocking two of his top players (Danilo Gallinari and JaVale McGee) out for most of the season he wasn’t always playing with a full hand. At the same time, he committed a few curious errors, especially for a coach with so much experience as a player and a coach. Shaw’s handling of the Andre Miller situation was problematic given Miller’s popularity in the locker room and around the league, and Shaw surely remembered how much he disliked hardline stances from coaches in his own playing days.
The issues weren’t simply personnel management. Burying Evan Fournier and Timofey Mozgov, especially in the latter case where J.J. Hickson was preferred despite Mozgov outperforming Hickson on nearly every front, contributed to a disappointing final record. With Gallinari and McGee returning as well as the addition of Arron Afflalo, the Nuggets are expected to make some noise, and perhaps even threaten a playoff spot. If the team starts scuffling early, Shaw might be on his way out of an ill-fated first head coaching gig.