OAKLAND, Calif. — It wasn’t long after the start of Brian Shaw’s postgame news conference following the Nuggets’ loss to Minnesota on Saturday night that Denver’s coach pointed a finger of blame at himself.
“I’ll take some of the grief for trying to work Randy Foye back into the lineup and figure out when and who to play Jameer (Nelson) with as well,” Shaw said. “I probably threw everybody off a little bit in terms of the rotational minutes that they had been playing, just trying to figure that out.”
Foye played seven minutes against Minnesota and figures to play a bit more Monday against Golden State. But he did not play in the second half Saturday night, which he understood.
“If we were playing really well and we were up, then I would play more in the second half,” Foye said. “But if not, (Shaw) didn’t want to put me in a tough situation. And that was something we both agreed on.”
The Nuggets went back to a rotation in the second half similar to what they used the night before at Dallas. But figuring out playing time won’t be an easy process as the roster is juggled.
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For the past month, the Nuggets have had no more than 12 players to worry about in the rotation. When Timofey Mozgov was traded Jan. 7, that number shrunk to 11, and the team got used to that. But with the skill set Nelson brings, the return of Foye and the expected return of Danilo Gallinari at the end of the week, Shaw is going to have to retool his substitution patterns.
The new rhythms require Nuggets players to quickly adapt.
“I think me and Jameer already have the chemistry,” Foye said. “We both can handle the ball. I can find him for 3s. He can find me for 3s. I just think that for both of us, it’s more getting our conditioning right, and once our conditioning gets right, then everything else is going to fall into place.”
Point guard Ty Lawson said: “I don’t think (chemistry will be difficult). I’ve watched Jameer play, so I know what he likes to do. He likes to get in the paint. He likes to create. And that’s how I play too. So, for him to get acclimated wasn’t too hard for him, and it wasn’t hard for us to adapt to him.”
Nelson agreed with both Foye and Lawson, but this issue goes beyond just those three players.
“These guys have been playing a long time with Randy out, with Gallo out, with JaVale (McGee) out,” Shaw said. “We just added Jameer. The other guys were getting kind of used to when they were going to go in the game and how long they were going to play.”
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Spotlight on Stephen Curry: Any MVP conversation these days has to have Curry on the shortlist. The Warriors’ sweet-shooting, high-scoring guard from Davidson is having an MVP-type season at age 26 with averages of 23.3 points and 8.0 assists, and career highs in rebounds (4.9) and steals (2.2). Curry also is shooting a career-best 49.8 percent from the field. And his 32-6 team has the best record in the NBA.
NOTEBOOK
Nuggets: Danilo Gallinari says he is close to playing again, aiming for a return in Friday’s home game against Boston. The veteran forward has missed 13 games because of torn meniscus in his right knee; he hasn’t played since before Christmas. But he has made progress and is the next player on track to return to the Nuggets’ lineup.
Warriors: Although it appears this won’t happen against the Nuggets, first-year Golden State coach Steve Kerr has started building in rest days for his players and will continue to do so. “Whether it’s (San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich) or anybody else, to me, it’s common sense,” Kerr told Bay Area reporters. “And when you get into a long stretch, and you’re fortunate enough to be able to mix and manage, then you just do it. It makes sense in the long run.”
Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post
