Denver Nuggets: Lawson DUI Exemplifies Nuggets Shortcomings
There is nothing like a seven-game losing streak to make the past two weeks feel like an eternity of frustration for the Denver Nuggets.
Adding to the frustration was just how close the Nuggets got to getting on the right side of the win column during that streak – losing by one point to the Boston Celtics, two points to the Washington Wizards in overtime, and four points to the Los Angeles Clippers when they had a late lead.
Thankfully, the Nuggets finally showed some killer instinct, and with a late Arron Afflalo jumper and some clutch free throw shooting they beat the New Orleans Pelicans 93-85 on the road.
The longest losing streak of the season has, at long last, come to a close. It’s ironic that with all that bad play, the biggest problem from the past two weeks came off the court when the Nuggets star point guard Ty Lawson got arrested for a DUI in the middle of the losing streak.
Losing makes bad luck and behavior contagious, and Lawson fell victim to that when he decided to drive home after a team event after drinking. The legal proceedings still need to play out, and Lawson’s cleared the air with his teammates and the press, but his DUI shows exactly why this roster is underperforming.
The Nuggets seriously lack chemistry. Despite popular belief, a team that has no All-Star’s can make the playoffs in the West, and the Phoenix Suns are showing that right now. The Nuggets have the tools to do just that as well, but without chemistry they continue to fall a few points short.
There is no better example of a lack of chemistry than the fact that Lawson was with his teammates allll night last Friday, at a Denver bar for a team event sponsored by the Nuggets for charity, but yet his teammates still let him get into a car and drive after they saw he’s been drinking.
Of course it’s still Lawson’s stupid decision, but teammates need to have each others back on and off the court.
On the court the lack of chemistry shows up at the end of games again and again. For example, they failed to communicate on defense late against the Clippers when Jamal Crawford got hot and they let him score 21 points in the fourth quarter.
The chemistry deficiency was also apparent when the Nuggets were trailing by one with just seconds on the clock against Boston – the team failed to put together a decent offensive set and was stuck with a step-back Jameer Nelson jumper to try and win the game.
The jumper was off, just like the Nuggets togetherness, and without the chemistry the season has been a lost cause. They aren’t playing for each other, they aren’t playing with a passion, and 48 minutes of NBA basketball is exposing this issue every game – even with their talent. Without chemistry, the team will always lose the intangibles.
“They made good basketball plays and we didn’t,” Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler told the Denver Post following the Clippers loss. “They made the hustle plays, the game-winning plays, and we didn’t.”
The Nuggets haven’t made those plays consistently throughout their 46 games this season. Luckily, with 36 games remaining they have enough time to band around Lawson’s big mistake, rally around each other, and start to build the chemistry they need to be contending with.
It’s up to the accused Lawson and head coach Brian Shaw to flip a U-turn on this mess of a season, and to use Lawson’s mistake as the spark.