There are defeats that hurt more than others and, above all, that leave their mark. The one experienced by the Nuggets on Monday against the Knicks seems to belong to this category. Shamelessly swept aside by Tom Thibodeau’s men in front of their fans, the 2023 champions did not exist in the face of New York’s offensive orgy (145 points, 45 assists, 61% overall skill, 52% at 3 points. ..). A failure who had the gift of putting Mike Malonethe Denver technician, on edge.
The former Kings assistant let loose at a press conference. “Russell Westbrook is vocal, but we need more than just Russell. I need to hear Nikola JokicI need to hear Jamal Murray. I need to hear from the guys who have been here for a while.” Before continuing. “Tonight we were humiliated. So it would be nice to show a little leadership, toughness, fight, and play like it really matters to us. It wasn’t like that tonight.”
Quite disappointed by the behavior of his protégés, Mike MaloneHe didn’t lose his temper. “We’re not going to give up. We don’t give up when we’re humiliated. We don’t give up on 145 points conceded. We don’t give up when we don’t make the effort and we don’t fight. I don’t give up on anything.”
Strong words to which the two incriminated stars reacted, starting with Nikola Jokicauthor of a small match by his standards against the Knicks (22 pts, 7 rebounds, 7 asts and -20 minus). The reigning MVP thus said with a touch of humor. “Taking a right helps you wake up.” Before recognizing, repeating the words of his coach, the mistakes of his teammates against NY. “The coach is right. We were -20 (-23) at halftime. I don’t understand how. We don’t warm up, we don’t wake up or we don’t play hard enough. I don’t know not where the problem comes from, but we need to do a better job collectively.”
Also targeted by Mike Malone, Jamal Murray did not shy away from his responsibilities after the meeting. “We have lives outside of basketball. We just beat the Lakers in LA. Some of our players live in LA and therefore stayed there. So I don’t think everyone was focused on the game tonight. And “That’s what happens when you’re not focused. It’s not the coach’s fault, it’s not the fault of our tactical choices, it’s entirely the fault of the players on the pitch.”
8th in the west with a record of 9 wins for 7 losses, Denver will have the opportunity to bounce back and show a better face on Wednesday on the Jazz floor.
D.R.
