I never said Malone was doing more with less. I was explaining how that perception exists, fair or not.

The Nuggets won 57 games the year before Shaw got there. The firing of Karl was seen as surprising. People underestimated the impact of Iggy and Brewer. People didn't know Ty Lawson was a drunk. Shaw still made a lot of bad decisions but he had a shit situation than people didn't realize the extent of the shittiness.

Coaches with young teams get more rope. And Malone is coming off of being fired surprisingly/unfairly. The Nuggets are coming off bad years and are in an obvious rebuild and grooming a rookie PG not dealing with 'Dre Miller and Ty. There were zero expectations this year.

Swap the order and I'm sure Malone would have flamed out and lost his infamous temper and Shaw would be give more patience. I don't think any coach would have survived Shaw's situation because he was taking over a team on the decline that the front office and owners didn't see as on the decline. But, still, his struggled on his own, completely failed to connect with his players, and a change was probably best for all parties.