Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone says referees are letting San Antonio Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl get away with setting moving screens.
The Spurs blew out the Nuggets in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead in their first round series. Malone says the refs allowed the Spurs to play a physical game in Game 3 because they were physical from the start.
Poeltl is averaging 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds through three games for the Spurs while shooting 60.0 percent from the field. The 23-year-old is 7-feet and 230 pounds. The players on the Nuggets are going to feel him when he's setting a screen on them no matter if it's illegal or not.
At the end of the day, Malone is just looking out for his players. That's what any coach does when his team isn't playing well. Game 3 of this series is on Saturday. The Nuggets are in a must-win situation, as they can't afford to go down 3-1.
Denver had the second-best record in the Western Conference during the regular season. No one saw them struggling against the seventh seeded Spurs in this fashion. Since Malone brought it up, the referees might look at Poeltl's screens more carefully in Game 3. We'll see if the Nuggets are able to come away with a big road win.