Sitting in first place of the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets had what should have been a prime opportunity to clinch the top seed on Tuesday night. Taking on the Houston Rockets, who have the worst record in the conference, coach Michael Malone’s Nuggets should have had no issues walking away with their 53rd win of the regular season.
Instead, the Rockets defeated the Nuggets 124-103, with Houston outscoring Denver 38-18 in the game’s final frame. While it’s just one loss, it left coach Malone very upset with his team’s effort and performance.
When given a chance to comment on the embarrassing loss after the game, Malone didn’t hold back, ripping into his players on a public stage.
“If that’s how we’re going to play, we’ll be out in the first round. When we don’t do our jobs, there’s accountability. And I speak the truth. I just called our team ‘soft,’ and I dared someone to challenge me. No one did, because we as a group were soft tonight. I’m not saying we are soft, but tonight, we were.”
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone on his team’s effort in Tuesday’s loss to Houston
Wow. It doesn’t get much more direct than that. On some levels, this is purely brutal.
Yet, this isn’t Malone’s first rodeo. He’s been an NBA head coach for ten seasons now, and perhaps this is his way of lighting a fire in his team now instead of when the playoffs roll around. Which by the way, they did get bounced out in the first round last season, so Malone is just trying to ensure they don’t fall into the same trap again this year.
Ultimately, losing to the Rockets isn’t much different than losing any of their other 26 games this season. They all count the same, and there are still NBA athletes on each sideline. This one just hurts because it destroyed their chances of clinching the top seed a bit earlier than they would have liked. That opportunity is still alive, with the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies a full two games back in the standings with just three games to play.
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