TORONTO — Do the Nuggets need help at reserve point guard? Maybe so, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said on Monday.
“Especially with Nate (Robinson) out and Randy (Foye) out, we don’t have another guy to get us into our offense and run things for us,” Shaw said. “So, that’s something as an organization that we’re going to have to think about – having another point guard or adding another point guard or something to our roster where, because if anything happens to Ty (Lawson), we’re in trouble. It’s as simple as that.”
There is little-to-no playmaking when Lawson hits the bench, and that has increasingly been a problem for the Nuggets, who haven’t been able to maintain offensive efficiency when Lawson rests.
The situation isn’t as dire as last season during the suspension of then-Nuggets reserve guard Andre Miller. While Miller was out, Lawson got injured and the Nuggets, who didn’t have a third point guard on the roster, had no one to turn to.
There are other ball-handlers, but the Nuggets’ two main reserve ball-handlers, Foye and Robinson, are out with injuries. That has left Shaw with basically two options off the bench to run the show when Lawson sits: rookies Gary Harris and Erick Green.
And, well, they’re rookies. Up-and-down play is to be expected.
Foye is not due back for at least another week, if not two, and Robinson took a knee to the back so hard that it bruised his spine. He’s day-to-day, but it’s not an easy injury to work through.
The Nuggets’ issues at backup guard would be given a respite with the return of those two veterans. But until then?
“I have to hold my breath a lot of times when I take (Lawson) out of the games,” Shaw said. “He has to get some rest at some point. I think (on Sunday) when I took him out, whatever we were down, I think the lead doubled almost during the time that I was able to get him out of the game and get some rest for him.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or
