Two days afterwards, Nuggets coach Michael Malone was still salty over what transpired in Sacramento on the weekend.
Even the turnovers the campaign, the complacency were gnawing at him.
Up 87-73 with 6:40 left, the Kings closed the match on a 17-3 run to force overtime, where turnovers and much more stagnant offense snapped Denver’s winning streak. Sour over the loss, the Nuggets (13-4) have the daunting challenge of regrouping against the Los Angeles Lakers and their Western Conference-leading 17-3 record.
That was the circumstance as Malone interrupted a question in Monday’s clinic about the “2 leading ” teams colliding at Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.
“Theyrsquo;re in a whole other level,” Malone said, not waiting to get the question. “Theyrsquo;re the best team in the West. ”
Malone, still hot concerning his team & rsquo and the meltdown ;s propensity for blowing prospects curtailed any narratives about Tuesday providing a referendum about the Western Conference hierarchy. Armed with data about their own shortcomings — “That’therefore the seventh time this season where we all ’ve had a lead in the fourth quarter and we all ’t let our competitor to go to a major rush ” — Malone pried himself out of Saturday’s no disappointment to address the Lakers.
“Theyrsquo;re a offense ” Malone explained. “They defeat you in the paint, they beat you they beat you around the glass. ”
Moreover, theyrsquo;ve got LeBron James, an MVP frontrunner after an extended, relaxing summertime. Malone, who was a helper during James’ initial stint in Cleveland, wasn’t even amazed in the pace theyrsquo;ve set for the remaining part of the conference. He wasn’t even stunned at how fast theyrsquo;ve coalesced after incorporating Anthony Davis.
“No, if LeBron James is involved, I’m ” Malone explained. “He’so coming off of not making the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season I’m surprised in any way. When you put two of the few players in the world on the team, and the best player in the world is LeBron James, who makes everyone. He also took a team in Cleveland that moved to the Finals and won without a Kevin Love and no Kyrie. So I don’t even put anything past LeBron James. ”
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Entering Tuesday, the Lakers had won 10 of the last 11 games.
Veteran power ahead Paul Millsap has generally drawn the short straw in regards to restricting James, who’d just 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting and seven rebounds in his solitary visit to Denver last year. Millsap, in year 14, is experiencing something of a renaissance himself. His institutional understanding of quitting James is equally as good as anyone on the team.
“Just attempt to take his easy buckets away he’s becoming,” Millsap stated. “Those are. Been playing with him for years, guarding him. It’therefore likely to be hard to automatically stop him. You attempt to do your best to simply stand your ground. ”
If the Nuggets can limit their turnovers and retain James and the Lakers out of transition, possibly Saturday’s loss won’t sting as bad come late Tuesday night.
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