The coach of the Nuggets, Michael Maloneis not happy with the narrative that have been done so far in the Western Conference Finals. After what Denver will defeat the Lakers In Game 1, much of the talk of the contest revolved around Los Angeles’ second-half adjustments, not Nikola Jokic or the Colorado win.
Jokic achieved a historic triple-double of 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists to lead his team to victory, becoming the first player to record multiple 30-20-10 triple-doubles in the Playoffs.
Instead of delving into that unique performance, the media preferred to talk about how the Lakers managed to trade Rui Hachimura for Jokic and allow Anthony Davis to play more rim protector.
Malone didn’t wait until after Game 2 to let the media hear it, defending his team during his pre-game press conference.
“It’s the first time I’ve been in a series winning 1-0 and the series is over in everyone’s mind because they put Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokic on six possessions. So let’s see how it pans out tonight.”Malone stated.
subscribe to NBA League Pass to see all the games: United States | Rest of the world
His team backed up his words with a brave comeback in the fourth quarter to take the second game and get a 2-0 series lead against Los Angeles. Jamal Murray led a barrage of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, scoring 23 points with four three-pointers to lead the Nuggets to victory.
More | Jamal Murray’s Fourth Quarter Excellence: Why His Stats Compare to Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson
With 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists, Jokic made history again, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to have posted four consecutive triple-doubles in the Playoffs.
Following the victory, Malone reaffirmed his pre-match statement with an emphatic harangue to the media.
“You win the first game of the Playoffs and everyone talks about the Lakers. Let’s be honest. The national narrative was: ‘Hey, the Lakers are doing well. They are losing 1-0 but something has occurred to them’. No one talked about how Nikola had a historic performance. He has 13 triple-doubles, the third of all time (in Playoffs). What he’s doing is amazing, but there was no talk of the Nuggets. The narrative was not about Nikola. It was about the Lakers and their adjustments.”he emphasized.
“So you put it in your pipe, you smoke it, you come back and it’s 2-0.”Malone concluded.
“You win Game 1 of the playoffs & all everybody talked about was the Lakers. Let’s be honest, that was a national narrative… They’re down 1-0 but they figured something out… You put that in your pipe, you smoke it. You go up 2-0.”
— Michael Malonepic.twitter.com/LEJXWTzi3s
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 19, 2023
The Nuggets will look to put the Lakers in a historically insurmountable hole when they travel to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Saturday, May 20.
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
2023-05-19 12:41:24
#Michael #Malones #criticism #Denvers #loss #Lakers #Nuggets #coach #questions #media #narrative
