Early mornings are back in the Mile-High City.
The Denver Nuggets have voted to reinstate morning shootarounds on game days, according to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. The players took a vote Saturday to determine whether they would return, with only one vote separating the ayes and nays.
Head coach Brian Shaw had moved to eliminate gameday shootarounds in early January, opting instead to have the players arrive earlier for games to focus on video and preparation rather than shooting. Shaw admitted the decision was in part due to the off-court lifestyle of his players, something apparently only six of the team's 13 players care about.
The change isn't all that surprising given the tumult around the team this season. Denver is 20-38, firmly in the race for lottery ping pong balls rather than the race for a playoff spot, and several pieces have been shipped out amid a minor tear-down. Those who remain, and those who are new, appear to want to close out the season strong.
Measuring the Nuggets' performance in a small sample with everything that has been going on is hardly fair, but the move also hasn't proven all that effective. Since the start of 2015, the Nuggets have gone 7-19 and rank in the bottom-six on both ends of the floor.
Shaw stuck by the strategy in late January, but the objectives have changed for the remainder of the season and apparently warranted revisiting. There's something to be said for empowering the players to make such a decision, as well, though there may be some risk in holding a combative vote like this.
Losers of 11 of their last 12, the Nuggets next play Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans.