Tag: Denver Nuggets

Michael Malone ties record for most games, wins in a season before being fired

After the shocking Michael Malone firing, HoopsHype presents the coaches with most games coached in a season to get fired.

The NBA world was rocked by another shock in-season firing on Tuesday when it was reported that the Denver Nuggets had fired head coach Michael Malone, along with general manager Calvin Booth.

The firing was a historic one, as Malone is now tied with the legendary Hubie Brown for the distinction of having coached the most games in a season before being fired. Brown had coached the 1980-81 Atlanta Hawks for 79 games when he was fired.

In addition, Malone also tied the record of having the most wins in a season at the time of a firing. That record he shares with another legend in the coaching world, Hall of Famer Larry Brown, who had coached the 1982-83 New Jersey Nets to a 47-29 record at the time of his firing.

According to reports, Malone was fired due to Nuggets players losing confidence in his messaging. Malone and Booth clashing over the direction of the team also didn’t help matters, per the Denver Post.

Even so, Malone’s firing was a complete shocker. We’ll see how interim head coach David Adelman, the son of former NBA head coach Rick Adelman, fares as interim head coach now.

Below, check out the NBA head coaches with the most games coached in a season before getting fired, as well as their win-loss records at the times of their firings. Spoiler alert: Malone and Taylor Jenkins, who the Memphis Gizzlies recently fired despite his 44-29 record this season, both rank high on this list.

Social media reacts to Denver losing despite Nikola Jokic’s 61-point triple-double: ‘Westbrook is a Laker legend’

Nikola Jokic scored 61 points and recorded the highest-scoring triple-double in NBA history, yet the Denver Nuggets lost at home in a double-overtime thriller against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 139-140. Russell Westbrook missed an open layup on a …

Nikola Jokic scored 61 points and recorded the highest-scoring triple-double in NBA history, yet the Denver Nuggets lost at home in a double-overtime thriller against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 139-140.

Russell Westbrook missed an open layup on a fast break that would have put Denver ahead by three points with 11.3 seconds left and then fouled Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who sealed the victory from the free-throw line.

See the reactions from social media below:

Social media reacts to Nikola Jokic’s first 30-20-20 triple-double in NBA history: ‘He’s testing the limits of the game’

Not that he needed to, but Nikola Jokic had another historic performance to cement his place among the all-time greats by recording the first 30-point, 20-rebound, 20-assist triple-double in NBA history to lead the Denver Nuggets to an overtime …

Not that he needed to, but Nikola Jokic had another historic performance to cement his place among the all-time greats by recording the first 30-point, 20-rebound, 20-assist triple-double in NBA history to lead the Denver Nuggets to an overtime 149-141 win at home against the Phoenix Suns.

According to ESPN, last night’s performance (31 points, 21 rebounds, and 22 assists) was also the seventh time this year in which he had at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists in a game. This is the most in a season ever, tying Oscar Robertson‘s 1961-62 feat, and he is also tied with ‘Big O’ for the most 15-15-15 triple-doubles ever at 15.

See the reactions to the Joker’s latest incredible trick below:

Nikola Jokic bluntly suggested NBA stars are too comfortable in wake of Luka Doncic trade

Nikola Jokic’s conclusion from the Luka Doncic trade is great in theory and terrible in practice.

The stunning Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers sent a shockwave throughout the NBA. Beyond us fans, though, it seemingly impacted the league’s superstars even more.

Before the Doncic deal, most franchise players likely assumed they could never be jettisoned without a second thought or so much as a formal goodbye. Now, with a young star like Doncic shipped out, seemingly on a whim, guys like the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards are understandably shaken. After all, if a 25-year-old Doncic nearing the prime of his career can be traded away in the middle of the night, it’s not hard to imagine that anyone else could, too.

Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has a different perspective on the Doncic aftermath. (And it matches something he’s said about his Denver Nuggets teammates before.) After his Nuggets dispatched the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night, Jokic, who is notably close friends with Doncic, maintained that the trade surprised him.

OK, sure. Nothing really to write home about there.

However, Jokic didn’t seem disconcerted about him or anyone else getting traded or anything like that. Instead, he shared an old-school mindset about how “nobody’s safe” anymore and that something like a shocking trade should always hang over everyone as motivation.

In other words, you either consistently perform or you’re out.

On the one hand, I agree with the Nuggets’ superstar on some level. But that agreement doesn’t come without its caveats:

Jokic’s central assertion is that there should be more motivating factors to perform well for the faces of the NBA. At the base level, I see his point. The league (especially commissioner Adam Silver) has done so much in recent years to try and push its pillars to do more, to simply compete and care more over a long 82-game season.

Why do you think the in-season tournament was installed? What about the play-in tournament? What about all these convoluted “solutions” for the competitive spirit of the All-Star Game? At the very least, it’s clear the NBA sees a problem with the complete buy-in of its stars.

At the same time, though, when Jokic says no one should feel safe, he’s almost certainly not thinking of rank-and-file NBA players. (I mean, for one, not many are considering what happened to Jalen Hood-Schifino going to the Utah Jazz or Max Christie heading to the Dallas Mavericks.)

Who’s to say role players aren’t wearing their hearts on their sleeves every night? Who’s to say they’re not motivated to give 100 percent effort as much as they physically and mentally can? They are not guaranteed the same things (Brinks Trucks of money, immense fame, etc.) as stars. They don’t get the keys to the franchise that guys like Jokic do. Many of these players treat a bog-standard game in the dog days of the regular season like it’ll be the last they ever play. Most of them don’t take a single day for granted.

I agree with Jokic’s general premise. The NBA does have a major issue properly motivating its superstars to respect the game. It probably has to be addressed in earnest without a galaxy brain plan from an overmatched commissioner. But simply suggesting less overarching security for stars trickles down in a harmful and unsustainable way for everyone else. Taking that kind of power out of players’ hands is not the answer.

It’s not that black and white.

Joel Embiid last played in Denver when these 5 world and sports events were still true

Joel Embiid hasn’t played in Nikola Jokic’s house in a LONG time.

As the two best big men of their generation, it’s major news any time we get a potential matchup between Denver Nuggets reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and 2023 MVP Joel Embiid. After all, Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers visit Jokic’s Nuggets on Tuesday night in Denver in a flashy TNT matchup.

Unfortunately, as Embiid addresses swelling in his knee, the 76ers center will miss the game. Given that the Nuggets and 76ers are only scheduled for two regular-season matchups per year because they reside in different conferences, it’s a poor turn of events for hoops fans hoping to see this battle of titans in the Mile High City.

It’s a particularly bad stroke of luck for Nuggets fans who were hoping to see Embiid square off with their franchise player in Jokic. Why? Because it’s been a long time since Embiid actually played on the road in Denver.

Here’s a quick list of things that have changed in the world since Embiid last played on the road in Colorado’s capital city … in 2019:

My goodness. At first, I couldn’t process seeing “Tom Brady still played in New England.” Then, you see something like The Last Dance wasn’t out yet, and I’m not even sure I can imagine a sports world anymore without that preeminent Michael Jordan propaganda. Phew.

It’s really been that long, huh?

Alas. At this point, all Nuggets (and NBA fans at large) can probably do is wait until next year to hopefully see Embiid play on the road against Jokic in Denver again. Fingers crossed.

Jamal Murray claimed he didn’t know about Shaq’s pregame challenge after monster 45-point game

Jamal Murray conveniently erupted against the Mavericks after Shaq called him out.

Now and then, we get glimpses of the shot-making superstar inside Jamal Murray. A step-back 3-pointer that doesn’t even graze the rim. A high floater off the glass after putting someone on skates. A confident mid-range shot from the elbow after posting up a weaker defender.

On Tuesday night, Murray pieced it all together for one of the best games he’s played in his entire NBA career. With the Nuggets playing the rival Dallas Mavericks on the road on TNT, Murray dropped a hyper-efficient 45 points on 18-of-26 shooting. He had a 19-point first quarter and a 32-point first half — a career-high on the latter. No one else who played in the game on either team had more than 13 points.

Murray was absolutely cooking the Dallas defense as he paced Denver to the victory. It was the kind of effort where it looked like Murray was shooting the ball into a hula hoop anytime he had possession.

In a game between Western Conference powers, Murray was clearly the best player on the floor from start to finish:

What’s funny about Murray’s eruption is that Shaquille O’Neal had conveniently challenged Murray during TNT’s pregame show. None of O’Neal’s criticism was out of bounds, either. He simply asked where the star-caliber Murray had been recently, as injuries and confidence issues have plagued Denver’s second-best player since it was eliminated in the second round of last year’s playoffs.

O’Neal maintained that if the 27-year-old Murray could regain his elite form, then that’s all reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets (with a revitalized Russell Westbrook in tow) need to win a second title in three seasons:

After the Nuggets’ win, in an interview with TNT’s Jared Greenberg, Murray claimed he hadn’t heard what O’Neal said. Honestly, given that Murray was likely warming up on the court in Dallas as TNT’s pregame show went on, it’s not all that farfetched to believe him.

Even still, Murray disagreed when Greenberg said it was better that Murray didn’t hear O’Neal’s pregame comments. He still wanted to hear the Hall of Fame center’s pointed analysis about him.

So, Greenberg told him everything.

Murray didn’t hesitate in response. He agreed that he needs to be better so that the Jokic Nuggets can win more championships. Punctuating that message after a monster 45-point effort is definitely one way to show he’s serious:

After Murray’s explosion on Tuesday night, the Nuggets now have four straight wins. They’re also 8-2 in their last 10 outings and are within striking distance of the No. 2 seed in the West.

It’d be a lot to ask of Murray to drop 40-plus points every night moving forward. That’s a lot to ask of any star player. But if he starts percolating more in general as we enter the second half of this NBA season, then the Nuggets’ recent run might go on even longer, perhaps even way into the spring and early June.

O’Neal’s assessment will be considered evergreen. That is, if it isn’t already.

If Jokic and Murray are firing on all cylinders, then the Nuggets might be virtually impossible to beat.

NBA Christmas announcers 2024: Who’s calling every game on ABC?

Here’s who’s announcing every NBA Christmas game in 2024.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year in the NBA.

Christmas Day is a tradition like no other in the association, and we’ve got quite a smorgasbord of high-flying, high-quality basketball to watch all day on the holiday.

READ MORE: The best sporting events to watch on Christmas Day 2024

If you’re here, you’re probably looking for answers about who is announcing all five NBA games sprinkled throughout the day and how you can watch. Fortunately, everything is rather simple and laid out perfectly by the league and its TV partners.

All five NBA games taking place on Christmas 2024 will be simulcast on ABC, ESPN, Disney+, and ESPN+. You can watch them on any of the platforms as you see fit. The announcers for each game are listed below.

(All times listed are in Eastern.)

San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks, at 12 p.m.

Ryan Ruocco, Cory Alexander, Cassidy Hubbarth

Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks, at 2:30 p.m.

Mark Jones, Jay Bilas, Jorge Sedano

Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics, at 5 p.m.

Dave Pasch, Tim Legler, Katie George

Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors, at 8 p.m.

Mike Breen, Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson, Lisa Salters

Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns, at 10:30 p.m.

Michael Grady, Stephanie White, Angel Gray

Michael Porter Jr. was notably benched amidst trade rumors for the Nuggets

This is worth monitoring for MPJ.

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. was not on the court during an overtime win for his team against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Porter had just 8 points while shooting 2-of-8 with the worst plus-minus of anyone who played for the Nuggets yesterday. He checked out of the game in the third quarter and did not return despite the battle heading into overtime.

These things happen over the course of an 82-game season, and Porter just simply did not have it going on Sunday. Denver head coach Michael Malone clearly noticed this and decided to play those in his rotation who would bring more life to the court.

But the timing of the poor performance is particularly notable considering that Porter has found his name in trade rumors for the Nuggets recently.

The conversation began after an article from The Athletic linked Chicago’s Zach LaVine as a potential fit for Denver. For such a trade to happen, the Nuggets would have to include Porter’s salary.

According to the report, while the organization has discussed a possible extension for Porter, there was also talk of potentially including him in a deal for Paul George this past offseason.

Naturally, this led other reporters to look into the availability of Porter as well. Here is more from Marc Stein and Jake Fischer (via Substack):

“League sources say that the Nuggets have indeed weighed whether to trade away Michael Porter Jr.

What began with the Nuggets exploring the feasibility of trading Porter for Paul George this past summer, before George bolted Clipperland for Philadelphia in free agency, has expanded to internal discussions this season, sources say, about whether such a step has to be considered even more strongly now.”

This report speculated that perhaps Denver would prefer to move Porter for “two starting-caliber players” rather than one notable name like LaVine.

Possible combinations include Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks or Cameron Johnson and Dorrian Finney-Smith from the Nets.

Porter is 6-foot-10 and has shot above 40.0 percent from beyond the arc in his NBA career.

The list of players his height who shoot with his accuracy at his volume is an impressive group.

Still only 26 years old, while he has no All-Star appearances yet, there is still a lot to like about Porter. He has room to improve his consistency, and for the Nuggets, they may prefer to have depth in their rotation.

But no matter what, the timing of him getting benched in a close game while also amidst trade rumors is a situation that is worth monitoring for Porter and his potential suitors.

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The NBA Cup’s schedule loophole directly contradicts what the tournament was trying to prevent

The NBA Cup schedule is ruining its own mission and there’s no real way to fix it.

The biggest reason NBA commissioner Adam Silver wanted to institute the NBA Cup was to inject interest in a long, arduous 82-game season.

The common refrain was that many casual league observers didn’t start paying attention to it until after the All-Star Break in late February. That’s because many NBA teams and stars don’t take the early portions of the season all that seriously themselves. You should compare November to April basketball yourself someday soon when you get the time. The difference is night and day.

So, here’s a tournament like the NBA Cup with fancy, temporary courts and gaudy jerseys designed to add an extra competitive edge to the part of the year when many squads are still clearly easing their way into the action.

Sounds simple and straightforward, right?

As we enter the knockout rounds of the 2024 NBA Cup, Silver and his cronies failed to account for a significant loophole in the proceedings. As it stands, the 22 NBA teams who don’t qualify for the knockout rounds essentially get almost a week off, just about six weeks into the regular season.

In effect, this schedule loophole directly contradicts what the NBA Cup was trying to prevent.

Look at the below schedule. The next non-NBA Cup game isn’t until Thursday, December 12! The overwhelming majority of the league already eliminated from this year’s Cup play is getting three, four, or even five days off right before the holiday season. And because the NBA is trying to center the remaining Cup teams with a bigger spotlight, it can’t meaningfully shift around the schedule to mitigate this gap. It doesn’t want non-Cup teams playing when the quarterfinals are happening.

We cannot underestimate how valuable this is to NBA players who play games every other night, play back-to-backs, and travel cross-country all the time.

None of them were born yesterday because they can see how the schedule shakes out in advance:

This isn’t to say that NBA teams want to deliberately miss their chances at winning the Cup. I’m sure some measure of the cash prize motivates many squads, especially those with younger players who have yet to earn lucrative contracts. They’re not going to stop trying altogether.

But put yourself in the shoes of a head coach or superstar for a second.

If it’s mid-November and your team is nursing some light injuries before an NBA Cup group stage matchup, are you really gonna go all out there when you’re trying to play the long game and compete in the spring for the Larry O’Brien Trophy?

If it’s mid-November and your thin-depth hopeful title contender team (like, say, the Denver Nuggets) is trying to get off to a good start by playing everyone heavy early-season minutes, maybe you look at the NBA Cup schedule and realize you get a built-in break that makes that bold, development plan easier to institute if you miss out on the knockout rounds.

If you’re a reigning champion like the Boston Celtics, why not get more rest now as you plan to play two extra months of basketball later this season? There are bigger fish to fry.

If you’re a veteran team with older stars like the Los Angeles Lakers or Phoenix Suns, wouldn’t you want a week of rest instead? Remember that if you go all the way, you’re also playing an extra 83rd regular-season game, which doesn’t count in the standings, either.

Oof.

Perhaps I’m being too cynical. Maybe NBA players care a lot more about the NBA Cup than I realize. I’m willing to hear arguments to the contrary.

But I’ve seen enough patterns from league organizations already to suggest they understand there aren’t any real consequences for failing to advance to the knockout rounds. (Not that there should be; that would be silly, too.) If anything, they know that if they fall short of the Cup early, they get a massive benefit of rest that is extremely rare within the context of the entire season.

This Cup schedule gap is something the NBA will, unfortunately, never be able to account for. I don’t think players and coaches want the league to figure it out, either.

Nikola Jokic suggested benching, pay cuts for Nuggets teammates after brutal loss to Wizards

Nikola Jokic is so frustrated with the lackluster Nuggets right now.

Through just about a fourth of this NBA season, Nikola Jokic has had another remarkable MVP-caliber campaign. The reigning MVP has been absolutely dominant from start to finish, perhaps better than ever. You could not say the same for his middling (and weirdly disjointed) Denver Nuggets, who have lost seven of their last 11 games at the time of this writing.

After the Nuggets fell to the league-worst Washington Wizards on Saturday night — in a game where Jokic put on a masterclass with 56 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists — the big man was clearly tired of everyone else’s lackadaisical efforts.

When asked about what he wants to see from his Denver teammates after the embarrassing Wizards loss, Jokic, in a very Serbian way, suggested that the other Nuggets get pay cuts for not doing their jobs properly. He expanded on that by saying that perhaps a benching or two for underperforming Nuggets players would also have an effective message moving forward.

Hoo boy. It’s not often that Jokic is this direct and openly frustrated.

How can you blame him?

And here’s a video of Jokic’s biting comments:

It’s not hard to see why Jokic would finally be this critical of the other Nuggets. At times this season, it has felt like Jokic has had to defeat other teams by himself, at least production-wise. Denver is literally the NBA’s best team when he’s on the floor on a statistical basis, and it’s the worst team, by far, when he’s off. Jokic is so great that he can elevate the Nuggets to wins by himself sometimes, but that’s not sustainable. He can’t do it every night.

Denver’s problems also all seem to stack on top of each other.

After signing a max contract, Jamal Murray has not pulled his weight. At all. Despite a push to be more versatile, Michael Porter Jr. still kinda looks like a one-dimensional scoring forward. Thanks to general manager Calvin Booth, the Denver bench, for the umpteenth straight year, is a disaster. Part of that blame also lies on head coach Michael Malone, who hasn’t figured out an adequate non-Jokic lineup in a long time, but there’s only so much a coach can do when they only have 7-8 viable every-night rotation players.

What’s even worse is it’s not readily apparent that these Nuggets like playing with each other anymore. They look like a team with internal tension in the organization that is letting that bleed over to the court. Jokic aside, they have been making the same careless mistakes on both ends of the floor for six weeks now.

That is no longer an anomaly. It is a trend. It just might be who these Nuggets are. They look like a team ready for a big change in the form of a shake-up trade or someone getting fired. Or both.

It’s not Jokic’s style to call everyone out like this. In fact, while completely justified, I’d be shocked if he ever even demanded a trade out of Denver. He’d sooner retire after his current contract expires before making a big public scene. Rocking the boat is just not who he is.

So, it speaks volumes that Jokic is now deciding to speak out because he’s breaking character. He’s fed up because he wants to win, and he wants more help doing so. The other Nuggets — players, coaches, and front office included — had better start listening.