- Mike Malone threw shade at the Los Angeles Lakers
- The coach pointed out the Lakers’ series against the Denver Nuggets was four months ago
- Malone said he doesn’t listen to outside noise
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets faced off in the Western Conference Finals, and there is no doubt that this series featured a lot of trash talk. There’s no love lost between the two teams, and many are excited to see them face off against one another on opening night.
Earlier this week, we saw Anthony Davis throw shade at the Nuggets, claiming that he and LeBron James have had conversations about facing them and are ready for the matchup. Recently, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone blasted the Lakers for their trash talk, pointing out that the series was four months ago and noting that if the Nuggets are still on the Lakers’ minds, then that’s on them.
“Oh, they’re talking about us? That was what, four months ago?” Malone said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “I can’t speak for anybody in L.A. But if they’re still worried about us, that’s on them.
“This is a new season, a new challenge, and it was a hell of a series against them. I know it was a 4-0 sweep, but all those games seemed like they went down to the wire. We have tremendous respect for that team. I have tremendous respect for Darvin Ham as a coach and the job that he did. But yeah, I don’t listen to any of that stuff. I don’t know what they’re saying, and if we’re on their minds, then I guess that’s on them.”
There is no doubt that Mike Malone simply wants to focus on basketball and isn’t indulging in any trash talk. It will be interesting to see if that changes after the two teams actually face off against one another.
Both the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers are contenders in the Eastern Conference and are definitely among the most talented teams in the league. It would be awesome for fans to get a series between the two franchises in the 2024 playoffs, and we’ll see what happens in the future.
The Denver Nuggets Took The Disrespect From The Media Personally
There is no doubt that the Denver Nuggets were not covered the same way last season as certain big market teams, frequently being disrespected by the media. In fact, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said that the Nuggets took the disrespect from the media personally, using it as motivation to fuel their run.
It remains to be seen if the Denver Nuggets will have the same hunger next season. They are now the reigning champions, and every team will be targeting them. They have the talent to go back-to-back, however, and we’ll see how they end up doing this season.
The Lakers And The Nuggets Are Evenly Matched
Even though the Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets, the team has had a good offseason and should be considered in the same tier. They added key players such as Gabe Vincent and Christian Wood, and perhaps we will see some internal improvement from players such as Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves as well.
The Denver Nuggets are still as good as ever though, even though they lost Bruce Brown in free agency to the Indiana Pacers. They have a lot of elite talent on the roster, and the best player in the league in Nikola Jokic.
The regular season matchups will likely be used by the two teams to test out strategy and tactics against one another. The playoffs is where both teams will really do battle with one another, and we’ll see who comes out on top.
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