The NBA community didn’t need another reason to be excited about the Western Conference Finals this year, but Michael Malone’s latest comments are causing quite a stir on social media today.
Ahead of Game 2 in Denver, the Nuggets coach was asked to respond to Darvin Ham’s late-game decision to put Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokic and he was less than impressed. In fact, he seemingly mocked the media for implying they didn’t have a way to respond.
“We’ve seen this before,” said coach Malone. “Nikola’s gonna figure it out, we’re gonna figure it out. This is the first time I’ve ever been in a series up 1-0 and the series is over in everybody’s eyes because they put Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokic for six possessions.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever been in a series up 1-0 and the series is over in everybody’s eyes because they put Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokic for six possessions.”
Michael Malone on the Lakers come back in Game 1 👀
(via @AnthonyRod33)pic.twitter.com/e7zPEPHGU9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 18, 2023
Malone said something similar after Game 1 when the Nuggets came out with a win despite some concerning stretches of play in the final two quarters.
“There’s this kind of discussion being based [on that] even though the Lakers lost, they’re walking out of here, they think they’ve got something,” Malone said. “I’ll bet you every red penny I have that Darvin Ham would rather be up 1-0 than down 0-1. So for us to be able to watch film after a win and show all the things that we did poorly is a great situation to be in.”
Coach Malone Is Getting Hate From Laker Nation
This type of talk has really riled up the Lakers fans, and many of them took to Twitter to throw some shade Denver’s way.
How many times is bro gonna mention this ?? it’s rent free in his head rn 😭💀
— Cam (@camdencwilson) May 18, 2023
Mike is overconfident
— Arwin Rahmatpanah (@Arw1nn) May 18, 2023
Bro the nuggets so bothered 😂😂😂
Lowkey reeks of insecurity
— Ethan Price (@Paradox_EP) May 18, 2023
Of course, the Lakers have a tendency to let their game do the talking, and it has been to great success recently. After crushing two strong contenders in Golden State and Memphis, the Lakers are proving all the doubters wrong with a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way.
Still, the Nuggets are not going to give it up easily, and you can bet they will come out with Game 2 ready to respond and ensure they keep control of the series. If not, it could have some major implications for Malone and the rest of the team.
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