(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The Denver Nuggets are again playoff bound this season, with Nikola Jokic making a strong case for the NBA MVP and the team securing the top spot in the Western Conference.
Although the Nuggets are headed for the postseason, the team has rubbed head coach Mike Malone the wrong way after suffering a 21-point blowout to the lowly Houston Rockets.
Obviously, Malone wants his top-seeded squad to be firing on all cylinders once the playoffs get underway, and not being able to even compete with a team destined for the NBA Draft Lottery is concerning, to say the least.
Malone didn’t hold back when talking about the disappointing loss and the current mindset of his playoff-bound squad.
“If that’s how we’re going to play, we’ll be out in the first round. … I just called our team ‘soft,’ and I dared someone to challenge me. No one did, because we as a group were soft tonight.”
Mike Malone didn’t hold back after Nuggets’ 21-PT loss to Rockets pic.twitter.com/iEeEFR9aN2
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 5, 2023
The Nuggets have dominated the competition this season, with the team only having 27 losses to this point.
No team is perfect, and flaws are always evident, even for the top teams in the NBA, but not finishing the season strong or keeping the same energy is inexcusable for a team expected to be a title contender.
Malone is entirely justified to question his team and its mindset moving forward, as the Nuggets don’t exactly have a great track record in the playoffs and will need to be incredibly sharp to get through every round of the postseason to reach the NBA Finals.
Fortunately for Malone, the Nuggets have proven to be a resilient team and likely got his message and know how important it is to be in top form heading into the playoffs.
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