Just a few weeks prior, the Denver Nuggets secured a victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on their home court. Nikola Jokic dominated with 35 points, shooting 15-for-20, along with 18 rebounds and eight assists. Jamal Murray contributed 34 points on 11-for-22 shooting, plus four rebounds and six assists. Together, they played 80 minutes and had only one turnover.
This win evened the season series with the top-seeded Thunder. Coach Michael Malone expressed his pride to reporters, calling it a `big-time response` after a challenging fourth quarter against the same team the previous night.
At that point, Denver had won 14 of their last 18 games, ranking second in the Western Conference and boasting the NBA`s second-best offense. Malone used the opportunity to advocate for Jokić`s fourth MVP award in five years.
This game might have been the defining moment for the 2024-25 Nuggets, but they unfortunately didn`t capitalize on it. In their subsequent home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they suffered a 20-point defeat, which wasn`t even their worst performance of the week. Facing the risk of entering the play-in tournament with only three games left in the regular season, Denver dismissed Malone on Tuesday and indicated that general manager Calvin Booth`s position is also in jeopardy.
Malone holds the record for most wins as the franchise`s coach. He is also the only NBA coach Jokić and Murray have ever had. The team`s current core achieved a championship just two seasons ago, although with a stronger supporting cast. It is highly unusual for a successful team to fire a coach at this point in the season, with the exception of the Memphis Grizzlies` dismissal of Taylor Jenkins 11 days prior. Typically, teams considering such significant changes wait until after the playoffs.
It`s difficult to justify this decision, especially its timing. However, to understand how the Nuggets reached a point where such a shake-up became possible, it`s important to examine their performance over the past four weeks and consider Malone`s own statements about the team during this period.
Malone Expressed Frustration with Nuggets` Poor Defense
After the loss to Minnesota, Malone acknowledged the team was `really tired` and `didn`t play much defense all night,` but he refrained from heavily criticizing the players.
`I just felt we were a step slow,` Malone told reporters. `And that’s understandable. That’s what I was telling myself. You look at what I’ve been asking, especially our main players as of late, that’s a lot.`
Malone mentioned the need to ensure players were well-rested for upcoming back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards. Ideally, against a shorthanded Lakers team and the struggling Wizards, the star players wouldn`t need to play excessive minutes. However, Jokić and Murray ended up playing a combined 77 minutes against a Lakers team missing LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura, and Gabe Vincent.
Austin Reaves had a standout game for Los Angeles with 37 points and 13 assists. Rookie Dalton Knecht added 32 points. The Nuggets narrowly won 131-126, thanks to an 8-0 run in the final minute, but Malone was dissatisfied with their defense, rebounding, and turnovers.
Malone described it as `another game` where the Nuggets `showed up and kind of tried to ease our way into it, and they jumped all over us. And that’s a recipe for disaster. We can’t do that.`
The Wizards game was even more concerning. Denver established a 16-point lead in the first quarter, but Washington managed to close the gap. Despite Jokić`s impressive performance of 40 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists, the Nuggets were in a close contest late in the game. In the final four minutes, Denver committed two turnovers, and the Wizards scored on seven of their nine possessions. Jordan Poole scored 12 points during this stretch, including the game-winning 3-pointer.
`We’re fooling ourselves if we think we can just show up and not play any defense,` Malone told reporters afterward. He pointed out their No. 8 defensive ranking in 2023-24 and lamented their drop to No. 26 in the 13 games since the All-Star break. He also mentioned their 18 turnovers, stating, `It’s like I’m saying the same things over and over and over again.`
When asked if the locker room believed the team could improve defensively, Malone responded, `Good question. You’d have to ask those guys.` He noted that they had discussed their defensive statistics, which were poor in the first half but better in the second half.
`So I think there is a belief,` Malone said. `But more important than the belief: Is there a want to? Do you want to go out there and guard for 48 minutes?`
Malone stated that `it remains to be seen` whether the team could consistently get stops. He had urged the players to consider their remaining 14 games, many against playoff-contending teams, as they packed for their upcoming road trip.
`We can’t keep saying the same thing every game,` he said. `We got lucky last night to beat the Lakers — we got lucky to beat a team that was severely limited in terms of their normal rotation. And tonight we didn’t get lucky. And so if you’re going to be a team that’s going to be trying to stay out of that play-in and be relevant, we gotta start playing some defense, we gotta stop turning the ball over, we gotta start rebounding. I mean, it’s Game 67 and I’ve been saying the same thing the whole year.`
Jokić was absent for Denver`s next five games due to an ankle injury. Surprisingly, without him, the Nuggets defeated the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets but lost to the Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Chicago Bulls. After the Portland game, where they trailed by as much as 23 points, Malone spoke briefly to reporters, making his disappointment evident.
`That was embarrassing,` Malone said. `That was just a joke. Who are we kidding? Eleven games to go, and that’s the effort we put forth. I’m embarrassed by that game and our approach and how we played.`
He noted the Blazers `kicked our butts on the offensive glass` and highlighted that Denver allowed 51 combined second-chance points and points off turnovers, along with 18 blow-bys.
`All they ran tonight was pick-and-roll,` Malone said. “Let me get the matchup that I want, I’m going to go one-on-one.’ And they beat us every time. And the few times they did miss, they got every offensive rebound. So I don’t know what our guys are thinking with 11 to go, and I challenge them to look at the standings, look at our remaining schedule, and if we continue to play the way we’re playing, we will be in the play-in tournament. Very simple. That’s just the way it is.`
Malone emphasized the need for players to approach each game `with the proper mindset and have some pride — I didn’t think we played with any pride tonight.`
A reporter inquired about the players` reaction to his message.
`I don’t really care,` he said. `It’s not my job to evaluate how they take things. My job is to be honest. And sometimes brutally honest. And tonight it was a brutally honest message. And the guys that are full of it won’t hear it, they’ll say, `Coach is tripping.’ And the guys that maybe do really care will — `cause they’re not going to go back and watch their minutes `cause nobody watches their minutes, nobody watches film — so we’ll have to show them the film. And I said, `If somebody disagrees with me, please speak up.’ And nobody said a word.`
Malone felt they had played carelessly and fallen short in the areas he had emphasized before the game.
`I didn’t think it could get even worse, but it did,` Malone said.
What`s Next for the Nuggets?
The primary reason for Denver`s decision seems to be their insufficient defensive performance, making the status quo unsustainable beyond this postseason. The Nuggets` defense is ranked 22nd in non-garbage time minutes, according to Cleaning The Glass, and Malone has repeatedly expressed his frustration with it recently.
It is surprising that Denver is the second franchise, along with Memphis, to decide that firing their most successful coach is necessary for improvement right before the playoffs. It`s also important to note a shift in Malone`s tone in recent games. While he has criticized the team`s defensive decline, given the circumstances, directly attacking player effort would have been unusual.
Denver has indeed lost four consecutive games, but Murray has been absent with a hamstring injury during this stretch, and his return timeline is uncertain. The first loss was a narrow defeat against the Timberwolves, featuring Jokić`s 61-point triple-double. The second loss occurred the following night, with none of the regular starters playing. After a 125-120 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, Malone acknowledged the team `guarded nobody` in the second and third quarters but took personal responsibility.
`I’ll start with me,` he told reporters. `We’ve lost four games in a row. And I’m never going to `this guy, that guy` — how about me as a head coach not doing my job to the best of my ability? And that’s why I challenged all of our guys. We haven’t lost four in a row in a long time, and it’s really easy to be together and say `family` when you’re winning, but when you’re losing games, can you stay together? And do you have the balls, do you have the courage to go home and look in the mirror and say, `What can I be doing better to help this team?“
Malone pointed out that the Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets, their remaining opponents, would not offer any sympathy. He urged the team to `snap out of this funk` and `get this bad taste out of our mouth because I hate losing and I know it’s driving me crazy.`
He concluded by expressing anticipation `to seeing how we respond.` If Denver wins their remaining games, they will secure a top-six seed and avoid the play-in tournament. Now, the team faces the challenge of improving their defense, ending their losing streak, and solidifying their playoff position amidst organizational turmoil.
Interim coach David Adelman has a significant task ahead.
Jasper Hawthorne