Los Angeles traffic hit the Nuggets at the worst possible time.
Entering Saturday night, the Denver Nuggets were looking to sweep their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. But after shooting just 44.8 percent from the field in a 119-108 loss, it seems even their pregame routine was thrown out of rhythm.
You see, Nuggets players were forced to weirdly use their slides during their pregame warmups. No, this wasn’t some deal about saving their legs or any kind of change in strategy. What happened was that Denver’s team bus carrying the players’ shoes was actually delayed getting to the arena, forcing the Nuggets to adapt on the fly and work with what they had, per DNVR’s Harrison Wind.
In this case, all they had there was their slides, leading to what looked like an incredibly awkward pregame warmup:
Looks like the Nuggets left something behind on their way to the arena…
After the game, while he didn’t use the warmup in slides as an excuse for his team’s overall performance, Nuggets sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. (who still dropped 27 points and 10 rebounds in the loss) admitted that not having his shoes for his usual routine did frustrate him a little because of how important that pregame process can be.
Nonetheless, he and the rest of the Nuggets are already moving forward:
The Nuggets had to either skip warmups or warmup in slides because the shoes were on the wrong bus pic.twitter.com/OTTjBYXU1g
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 28, 2024
The Nuggets aren’t going to the White House, but Michael Malone says it’s not for playoff seeding reasons.
The Denver Nuggets won’t be going to the White House to celebrate their 2023 NBA title, but coach Michael Malone says it’s not because they’re chasing the top seed in the Western Conference.
After a report from NBA on TNT alluded that being the reason Denver won’t travel to Washington D.C. for the annual visit with the President, Malone refuted the claim.
Per DNVR Sports’ Harrison Ward, the Nuggets coach shared that the team’s whole goal isn’t making it to the top of the playoff bracket. It sounds like Denver’s main goal will be a title, and the seeding won’t be the end-all, be-all.
Michael Malone: “Contrary to recent reports, our whole goal is not being the No. 1 seed. It’s not why we cancelled the trip to the White House. I don’t know where these things come from. If we get the 1-seed, great.”
While it’s perfectly common for a sports team to turn down a visit to the White House, Malone has shut down the idea it’s for playoff seeding reasons.
If the Nuggets win another title in the summer, perhaps they’ll make a trip to the White House then. Until a possible repeat, it’ll be all business for the Nuggets.
Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets react to Joel Embiid being a late scratch after a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
When one saw who was missing for the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday when they visited the defending champion Denver Nuggets, one would have assumed the game was a blowout.
The Sixers were missing Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Robert Covington and Mo Bamba. Joel Embiid joined that list shortly before the tip. Despite the absences, the Sixers had a lead in the fourth quarter and almost pulled off a big win before the Nuggets closed it out, 111-105.
There is some controversy surrounding Embiid’s absence. He was not on the injury report before the game, and he appeared to be active in warmups. The decision robbed everybody of an Embiid vs. Nikola Jokic matchup, but the Sixers certainly gave the Nuggets everything they could handle.
“We found out very late and I don’t know how you go from being active, available, to out,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters after the win. “I’m sure the league will do its due diligence because that’s frowned upon. And we have had situations this year, we have talked to the league, and they have told us if a player goes from active to out, there is going to be an investigation. I’m sure that will happen.”
One has to wonder whether Embiid tweaked his troublesome left knee in the loss to the Indiana Pacers to begin the trip.
“Joel hurt his knee in the Indiana game, that’s real. If you watched the game, he hurt his knee in the Indiana game,” Malone added. “I’m sure he is hurt, but it’s really tough when a player and a team like us are preparing for them, and then all of a sudden at the last minute he’s out.”
It looked as if the Nuggets were going to run away with this one. Jamal Murray hit three triples in the first quarter and Denver built a 10-point lead in the opening frame before the Sixers made it a game.
“We have to do a better job handling those situations and I felt we did, Jamal made three 3s in a row, we are up 10, and I think everyone was like ‘Oh yeah this is going to be a cakewalk tonight.’ Well, it wasn’t; this was a tough, tough win and not satisfied.”
Jokic, who expressed his admiration for Embiid after the win, downplayed the reigning league MVP sitting out. The two giants have respect for one another: They know what they bring to the table.
“I mean I think they have really good, professional players,” Jokic said of the Sixers. “Maybe it looks like on paper that it’s supposed to be an easy game. There is no easy games for us. We were fighting, they were fighting. It was an interesting game. I’m just glad that we won in the end.”
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone is impressed with Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey’s offensive ability.
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are led by one of the best players in the game. Joel Embiid is one of the top talents in the NBA regardless of position.
However, Embiid is joined by one of the rising stars in the NBA: Tyrese Maxey.
In his fourth season in the league, Maxey is averaging 26.1 points, 6.7 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 45.1% from the floor and 38.5% from deep. He has done a phenomenal job of taking his game to the next level.
“Speed, quickness, open floor, his ability to change ends,” Malone said of Maxey. “Just really, really quick. His ability to draw fouls, get to the free-throw line. He can knock down the 3 if you go under him and if you chase him, he can get downhill and really, I think, underrated finisher.”
Maxey has a knack for getting into the paint and making creative finishes. He has an innate ability to finish over taller defenders while absorbing contact, which benefits Philadelphia.
“His ability to get into the paint, create contact, absorb that contact and finish are all things that kind of jump out to me,” Malone added. “Yeah, that guy, he’s capable of putting up 50 on any given night.”
“They have a new identity, a new culture,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone says of the #Rockets under Ime Udoka. Houston has now won six straight games.
Courtesy of Sunday’s thrilling win over defending NBA champion Denver, the Houston Rockets (6-3) have won six straight games and are among the league’s best teams by numerous metrics.
For the season, Ime Udoka’s new-look Rockets rank No. 7 in net rating, including a No. 10 mark on offense and No. 5 on defense. Exclude an opening night clunker on Oct. 25 in Orlando and focus solely on the last eight games, and Houston’s marks rise to No. 5 in net rating, No. 4 on defense, and No. 7 on offense.
So, how are the Rockets — who finished last in the Western Conference in each of the past three years — doing it? Michael Malone, who coached the Nuggets to last season’s title, has an idea.
They’re a different team. Anytime you add an All-Star in Freddy VanVleet, and an all-defense player in Dillon Brooks, a veteran in Jeff Green who helped us win a championship, a new coaching staff — obviously, Ime, his guys, have done a great job — they have a new identity, a new culture.
The Nuggets had won 10 of their final 11 games against the Rockets under the guidance of former head coach Stephen Silas.
As for whether Udoka’s team can keep its progress going, the next test comes Friday night in Los Angeles versus former franchise icon James Harden and the Clippers. Tipoff is at 9:30 p.m. Central.
[lawrence-related id=117939,117931]
Rockets insider: Rockets surge past Nuggets the latest demonstration of how they have grown, relying on execution and defense. Michael Malone: "They have a new identity, a new culture.” https://t.co/vg6ybi2bra via @houstonchron
NBA Finals MVP big man Nikola Jokic returned to his elite form during the game against Los Angeles, recording a triple-double during his first game of the season.
During the fourth quarter of the victory, Nuggets fans began showering the court with an overwhelmingly loud chant. Even on the television broadcast, those watching at home could clearly hear those in the arena shouting “Who’s your daddy?” at the Lakers.
“Who’s your daddy?” chant breaks out to end this Nuggets-Lakers season opener. pic.twitter.com/ewAstHHqc4
Then, he flagged down Nuggets head coach Mike Malone and put the blame on him. Here is what he said:
“This is you. This is your fault. … We gotta go to [indecipherable] and this is what you started.”
Murray then shared a laugh with Malone, though his assessment probably isn’t entirely incorrect.
During the playoffs last season, Malone called out the media for attempting to spin some sort of narrative about the Lakers. Malone was then introduced at the parade as “the Lakers daddy” after the Nuggets won the title.
LeBron James played it coy when asked about responding to the Nuggets’ trash time over the last few months.
The Denver Nuggets swept the Los Angeles Lakers in last season’s Western Conference finals en route to their first-ever NBA championship. After clinching the world title, and even before doing so, they spent a lot of time talking trash to and about the Purple and Gold.
Head coach Michael Malone whined a lot about the supposed disproportionate media focus on the Lakers as opposed to his team, even after it had put the Lakers away for the summer. He then strutted around like a peacock on steroids during Denver’s championship parade.
In addition, Bruce Brown, a key reserve on last year’s Nuggets, said the Minnesota Timberwolves, their first-round opponent, and not the Lakers were their toughest playoff opponent.
More recently, Denver guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who won a ring with the Lakers in 2020, said his current team “had to give them that butt whooping” (h/t Lakers Daily).
“We had to give them that butt whipping”.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope talks about the fun rivalry with his former Laker teammates.
LeBron James was asked about all this trash talk and when he will respond. He said, “There will be a time,” but that the time isn’t now.
LeBron James generally took the high road today when asked about any comments made by the Nuggets this summer motivating him going into opening night in Denver. But he vowed “there will be a time” when he will respond to all of his detractors. pic.twitter.com/zfHGUQjAON
One thing a team in the Nuggets’ position should never do is give a team such as the Lakers any added motivation or bulletin board material, especially since the Lakers seem equipped and very capable of knocking off the Nuggets in this season’s playoffs.
The two teams will kick off the regular season on Tuesday in the Mile High City after the Nuggets receive their 2023 world championship rings in front of their fans.
The Lakers and Nuggets, last season’s Western Conference finalists, are already chirping at each other a bit as training camp gets underway.
Last season was a dream year for the Denver Nuggets. Although they had their doubters for a good portion of the regular season, they finished with the best record in the Western Conference and powered through the postseason to win their first NBA championship.
Along the way, they swept the born-again Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. Even as Denver was being overwhelmingly picked to win it all, its head coach, Michael Malone, kept going off on the media for what he perceived as disrespect and a disproportionate amount of focus on the Lakers.
Malone was very peacocky during the Nuggets’ championship parade, which apparently ruffled the feathers of a few Lakers players. Austin Reaves was one player who responded as training camp opened this week (h/t Lakers Daily).
Have the Lakers heard the Nuggets chirping since they won the championship? Austin Reaves: “I think everybody knows it was pointed at us” pic.twitter.com/PAHrwekZlx
“I think everybody knows it was pointed at us,” Reaves said. “They can do it indirectly if they want, but I think it was very obvious to the public eye. That’s why everybody was talking about it. You see stuff – me personally I try my best to stay off social media and look at all that stuff. To me, I go play every game the way – you know I’m gonna go play the first game against them. But I think it adds a little bit of motivation to go play really well.”
Anthony Davis also responded, saying he and LeBron James are motivated to get back at Denver.
Safe to say LeBron and AD are motivated to face the Nuggets after all their trash talk 😈
“It was just a lot of talking. We get it, y’all won, but me and Bron had some conversations… we can’t wait [to play them].” pic.twitter.com/qr8iZGIwll
The Lakers are using all the trash talk from Denver as motivation this season.
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.
NBA media day is in the books, training camps are underway and basketball is back in the headlines.
One of my biggest takeaways from all the hoopla and player interviews this week is just how damn salty the Los Angeles Lakers are about their Western Conference Finals loss to the Denver Nuggets. Or, more specifically, the swipes some people on the Denver side took at them after going on to win the NBA title.
Anthony Davis called all the talk “very motivational.”
“It was just a lot of like, the talking. It was just so much of that going on,” Davis said Monday on Spectrum Sportsnet. “Like, alright, we get it, y’all won. But me and [LeBron James] had some conversations like, ‘We can’t wait.'”
Austin Reaves said similar things Tuesday, addressing some of the comments that came from Denver.
“I think everybody knows it was pointed at us,” he said. “They can do it indirectly if they want, but I think it was very obvious to the public eye. That’s why everybody was talking about it.”
Have the Lakers heard the Nuggets chirping since they won the championship? Austin Reaves: “I think everybody knows it was pointed at us” pic.twitter.com/PAHrwekZlx
It’s unclear which exact comments set off the Lakers, but the chirping began even before their series loss, when Denver was leading 2-0 and head coach Michael Malone called out the media for continuing to spin a narrative about the Lakers. And he wasn’t wrong about that, but it continued from there.
After the Nuggets won the title, Malone was introduced at the parade as “the Lakers daddy.” Then, Malone mocked reports that LeBron James was considering retirement by joking on the Pat McAfee Show that he was thinking about retirement.
Apparently while all of us were laughing and allowing the Nuggets to enjoy their moment, the Lakers were keeping receipts. Now, they can’t wait to embark on their own title run and ruin the Nuggets’ ring ceremony on opening night to get it started.
To be clear, Malone and the Nuggets earned the right to talk whatever smack they wanted to because they won the championship, and they swept the Lakers on the way to that title. But I am very much here for the Lakers taking it all personally. They should. This is the type of stuff rivalries are built on, and we don’t get too many good rivalries in today’s NBA with all the player movement that happens.
The Lakers and Nuggets have now met in the conference finals twice in the last four years, with each team winning a series and going on to win a title that same year. The teams and their respective stars are very familiar with one another, and now they have added smoke to bring into this new season. I can’t wait to see how that plays out on the court. It may not be Lakers-Celtics or Bulls-Pistons, but it’s quickly becoming one of the best rivalries of today’s NBA. This season can cement it as the best.
Nikola Jokic is back on the clock
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
As much as the Lakers have apparently thought about the Nuggets, it’s highly unlikely Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has given as much thought about them.
The nonchalant walk. The fake smile that just screamed “here we go with this again.” The dude looks like he doesn’t want to be there, and judging by his response to a question Tuesday about all the fun he had this summer, he doesn’t. Because apparently he didn’t have all that much fun this summer, not relative to what he’s used to anyway.
“Because we played 2 1/2 extra months,” Jokic said. “It was good, but I had summers that I had more fun.”
Nikola Jokic on if this was the most fun he’s ever had in a summer:
“Nah, I think it’s actually opposite… We played 2 and 1/2 extra months." 😂
Darvin Ham had some comments about the Lakers’ upcoming efforts to knock off the NBA champion Denver Nuggets this coming season.
The Denver Nuggets are the reigning NBA world champions, and they earned the title this past season in part by sweeping the born-again Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
Though an empty finish for Los Angeles, it was oddly encouraging.
After struggling for much of the season to tread water while several games under .500, multiple midseason trades transformed the team into a title contender, and that’s where it finds itself.
There are 29 teams looking up at the Nuggets, and Lakers head coach Darvin Ham agrees with most people that Nikola Jokic and company will be heavyweights for at least a few more years. Yet, Ham also seems to feel his team can win it all this season, and he talked about what it will take to beat Denver during an interview with Chris Haynes and Marc Stein.
“I just think we gotta fight fire with fire. The big thing about Denver is you can’t turn the ball over, you have to finish at the rim, you gotta get to the free throw line and make free throws. But you can not have any, what we call self-inflicted wounds, you can’t beat yourself, they’re tough.
“We’ll see because their core is young. They’re set up to make a run for plenty more years.”
The Lakers certainly seem to have a roster that can knock off the Nuggets, and that roster could be even stronger this fall, winter and spring than it was late last season.
