Mike Malone, angry with the Nuggets

The Nuggets are not going through their best moment. The Colorado franchise, which won the first NBA championship in its history in 2023, suffered a disappointing elimination in the Conference semi-finals last yearalso losing the seventh and final game in the High Milewhere the incredible height did not hinder the victory of the young beardless Timberwolves. Success, at least failure for a team that saw and struggled in the first round against the Lakers (lost 4-1 with a total difference of 8 points in the entire series), in a tie very close in which each of the matches could fall from any direction. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope later admitted that he thought they should have lost that series.. One that caused a dent in the body of the current champion at the time, leaking that Nikola Jokic had finished the season very tired and that she was tired against the Wolves.

After that, the Nuggets They are immersed in a summer in which they have not done nothing. After winning the ring in 2023, they lost two very important pieces such as Jeff Green and Bruce Brown, and in the current market they have allowed the aforementioned Caldwell-Pope to escape, who has gone to the Magic. The squad is getting shorter and shorter, a sign that had already affected the last playoffs, and the ineffectiveness of the management, which has remained immobile, raises many doubts about the the fate of a team that started last season is one of the main options and face. what comes in an ocean full of uncertainty. Nikola Jokic is still in his prime, he just won his third MVP and he is the best player in the world today (along with Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and many others), but there are fewer and fewer elements around him to develop his infinite talent.

Also out is Jamal Murray, another guy no one knows if to trust. He scored 35 points in the seventh game against the Wolves, but his inconsistency and defensive ability have become apparent. And it also comes from a very bad Olympic Games with Canada: 5.7 points, 33% in field goals and 10% in triples.. Far from his best physical shape, with a major impact on his inner core and still with signs of that rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in 2021, an injury that prevented many players from being the same again , it gives the feeling that the point guard is stumbling, with very large absences and bursts of talent (like the two game-winning shots against the Lakers in the first round) that are not enough to sustain what would have been to be one of the best duos in history. No one knows if the quality of the a game player it will return as it was. For now, it was renewed in the last few hours for 208 million in five seasons in a move that aims more to relieve emotions than anything else and also mortgages its ‘ franchise against possible movements in the February market.

The rest of the team is filled with famous faces who have been in the team: the most important and necessary in achieving the ring Aaron Gordon (life insurance) and Michael Porter (who made all three points against the Lakers and missed them all against the Wolves). An increasingly short squad, with little rotation (Payton Watson, Christian Braun…), which will force Jokic to play several minutes and the team to pray when the Serbian sits on the bench . And with the same build that Russell Westbrook has, that superstar who comes and goes, who searches and tries, but goes from one team to another without benefiting anyone. although it is not always his fault. A complicated situation if we take into account that the Western Conference is more open than ever and that the Nuggets (which happened to them last year) will have to fight until the end to get a good classification for the playoffs and the advantage of the home field in the first round. Spend, spend and more spend. No more.

Mike Malone, angry

Another one to follow is the coach, Mike Malone who is facing his 10th season on the bench… and is not very happy with the situation. Various media in North America have reported that the board and the coach do not see each other in the eye and that the few changes the Nuggets have had have made Malone angry. No wonder: no one knows how much he was consulted or what parts he claimed. The only thing that has come out is that the signing of Westbrook has been a special request from Jokic himself and that the board, immersed like everyone else in the era of power players, forced him to submit to the Serbian demand. Although the outward impression is that they did not put up much resistance, or to sign Russ or to the defeat of Caldwell-Pope. And they haven’t shown much interest in other players arriving at the entity either.

This is how things are in the Nuggets. With fewer and fewer elements to attack the ring while the Wolves maintain a competitive block, the Mavericks get Klay Thompson and the Thunder create a squad that will do just about anything they suggest. With Nikola Jokic ending the tiring seasons, Jamal Murray raises more doubts than certainty and Russell Wesbrook on the team and everything that could mean. With the rivals just stronger, the West more unpredictable and weaker. Remembering the ring of 2023, that golden symphony in the Rockies that allowed the first ring of a franchise born in the ABAbut with a future that cannot even live on dreams. And with Mike Malone, that special coach with a modus operandi that goes from the press conference to the court, facing the table. They have everything. And everywhere. bad thing.

.

Follow the Diario AS channel on WhatsAppwhere you can find all the sports in one place: the news of the day, the agenda with the latest news about the most important sports events, the most exclusive images, the opinion of the best AS brands, reports, videos, and a little humor from time to time.