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Denver Nuggets: Brian Shaw and Jusuf Nurkic — A Match Made in Heaven

By Kevin C Keller

April 10, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw smiles during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Nuggets defeated the Warriors 100-99. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
April 10, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw smiles during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Nuggets defeated the Warriors 100-99. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Peanut butter and jelly, football and Thanksgiving, the Denver Nuggets and fast breaks — some things are just destined to go together.

One of those timeless combinations to us basketball fans is smart head coach and a physical big man, and the Denver Nuggets may have found a winning duo in Brian Shaw and rookie center from Bosnia, Jusuf Nurkic.

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Nurkic was the 16th overall pick in the most recent NBA draft, and the Nuggets had to give up Doug McDermott in order to nab the center from the Chicago Bulls. He stands 7 feet and weighs 280 pounds according to NBA.com, and at even though he’s 20 years old Nurkic has already played three years of professional basketball in Europe.

He’s probably not going to see a ton of floor time this year considering how stacked the Nuggets frontcourt already is with Timofey Mozgov, JaVale McGee, J.J. Hickson, and Darrell Arthur, but he’s someone to be excited about Nuggets fans.

Nurkic already brought some excitement to the Nuggets’ preseason, something that’s not too easy to do, with his play so far. His preseason average of 9.8 rebounds a game is fourth best in the NBA so far, and he managed to grab 15 boards in just 18 minutes in the Nuggets preseason win against the Thunder last week.

His rebounding shows he is physical enough for the NBA, and by scoring 15 points in 14 minutes against Bulls’ big man Taj Gibson (who is a great defender) last Monday, he showed he has an NBA offensive touch too.

"“He is a guy that has a world of talent,” Denver Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly told the Denver Post. “You don’t see guys that big move like him. You don’t see guys that big with his skill set.”"

Oct 8, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mitch McGary (33) passes the ball while being defended by Denver Nuggets forward Jerrelle Benimon (20) and center Jusuf Nurkic (23) during the second half at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 114-101. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mitch McGary (33) passes the ball while being defended by Denver Nuggets forward Jerrelle Benimon (20) and center Jusuf Nurkic (23) during the second half at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 114-101. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

Nurkic’s skill set is no doubt impressive at his age, but those skills aren’t good enough to earn him a starting job in the NBA, and that’s where Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw comes into the picture. Shaw, who played guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, is a big man development machine as a coach in the NBA. In just one season with the Nuggets, for example, Shaw helped Timofey Mozgov increase his averages from the 2012-13 season by 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds a night.

Shaw also is behind some of the best big man seasons we’ve had in recent memory. While an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, Brian Shaw helped Andrew Bynum develop from his rookie season in 2005-06 until 2011 (Shaw became the Indiana Pacers’ assistant coach).

Bynum averaged 18.7 points and 11.1 rebounds in his final Lakers season in 2011. After Shaw? Bynum’s numbers dropped to 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, even though injury did play a part of that, Bynum’s never been as good as when he had Shaw.

We also witnessed Shaw’s effect on Indiana Pacers’ big man Roy Hibbert. Hibbert’s averages increased by 0.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks a game in Shaw’s first season with the Pacers. Two years later, Shaw was hired as the Nuggets head coach, and Hibbert’s averages dropped by 1.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks a game.

We especially noticed the regression during Hibbert’s struggles in the second half of last season.

We won’t have before and after numbers to compare for Jusuf Nurkic under Brian Shaw, but we’ll all be hoping Shaw uses the same big man magic that turned Andrew Bynum from a rookie who averaged 1.6 points and 1.7 rebounds to an All-Star who averaged 18.7 and 11.8. So far, Nurkic has shown the raw talent, and Shaw has shown the coaching prowess to make the pair look as good as peas and carrots.

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