The Denver Nuggets may be locked in as the number one seed in the Western Conference standings, but their performance against the Utah Jazz Saturday evening drew some strong criticisms from head coach Michael Malone.
The head coach was fired up at his post-game media session, as he publicly called out his Nuggets in front of the press, noting that he was “pissed off” for how the team performed on the night.
“Maybe I'm just wired a little differently,” Michael Malone said. “To me, losing at any point in the season is not ok. The moment you think losing is ok…that starts to seep into who you are, the essence of who you are. I heard a long time ago there are two types of people: those who like to win and those who hate to lose…Disappointing loss. We'll finish off the season tomorrow at home against [Sacramento] and we'll go from there.”
Malone would also highlight the fact that the Nuggets gave up “64 points in the paint” and “26 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds” as being two pivotal factors that aided in their ultimate demise.
On top of this, from an offensive standpoint, Denver proved to be incredibly inefficient. The club would go on to shoot just 45.6% from the field and a lackluster 32.6% from distance. Superstar big man Nikola Jokic also failed to score double-digit points (registered six on the night) for just the third time all season.
Denver's head coach is no stranger to calling out his team when he's dissatisfied. Just recently, he voiced a similar sentiment following their April 4 blowout loss to the lowly Houston Rockets.
Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets will have one final opportunity to add another win to their already impressive collection Sunday afternoon, as they'll play host to the Sacramento Kings in the team's regular-season finale.
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