The Denver Nuggets lost Game 2 to the Miami Heat and have now lost home-court advantage in the NBA Finals. There’s no doubt that this was a tough loss for them, and they need to find a way to win one on the road in Miami to avoid going down 3-1 in the series.
It seems as though coach Mike Malone believes that the Denver Nuggets’ effort level was a reason that they lost. He called out some of his players for being down on themselves because they couldn’t make shots, even stating that this isn’t the preseason.
“Let’s talk about effort… that’s a huge concern of mine… We had guys out there that were just whether feeling sorry for themselves for not making shots or thinking they can just turn it on or off. This is not preseason. This is the NBA Finals… I asked the players, ‘You tell me why we lost’. They knew the answer. Miami came in here and outworked us… so many breakdowns, they exploited every one of them.”
Coach Malone talks about the Nuggets effort and discipline in MBA Finals game 2. pic.twitter.com/MWWx9bUHse
— Jena Garcia (@VidaVivaDiva) June 5, 2023
There’s no doubt that, at times, the Denver Nuggets looked lackadaisical on the defensive end in Game 2. Hopefully, their focus improves in Game 3, and it is clear that they can’t just hope to out-talent the Miami Heat.
Mike Malone Knew The Heat Wouldn’t Be An Easy Opponent
Ahead of the series, Mike Malone warned the Nuggets about how good the Heat are. He noted that this series would be the “biggest challenge” for the Nuggets and noted that in the NBA Finals, seeding doesn’t matter.
“As I told our team, forget the #8 seed stuff. They beat Milwaukee 4-1 and they had the most wins in the NBA this year. They beat Boston 4-3 and they were up 3-0, team with the second most wins this year. When you get to the NBA Finals, it’s not about seeding anymore. And for those that are thinking this is going to be an easy series, I don’t even know what to say to you people. This is going to be the biggest challenge of our lives. It’s the NBA Finals.”
It is true that teams get to the NBA Finals for a reason, and the playoffs are entirely different from the regular season. Hopefully, we see them do better in Game 2, and we’ll see what happens in the future.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
