Hey, Coach: Better win and do it soon
The Nuggets are his baby. Coach Michael Malone loved them when nobody else in Denver did, dealt with their tantrums and nurtured their skill. Now it’s time for Malone to reap the benefits of winning. Or else.
Anybody else around here tired of hearing the Nuggets talk about being good when they grow up? While franchise management preaches patience, anything less than a 47-35 record this season should be considered a failure. So Malone needs to bring some urgency to the task of harnessing the star power of Nikola Jokic, managing two young point guards and keeping a locker room cluttered with too many power forwards from bickering about playing time.
And here’s the rub: When the season opens Wednesday night at Utah, the Nuggets need to be ready to win from the start if they want to make noise in the Western Conference.
Malone can’t dilly or dally, slowly figuring out what type of team he wants Denver to be, as was the case last year — and the year before that. Pick a starting point guard and stick with him. Don’t mess with egos and emotions by constantly fiddling with the substitu- tion pattern off the bench. Do more than preach defense; try actually getting a big stop instead of surrendering a big run in the fourth quarter.
“It will be black and white. We’ll see after 10 or 20 games if we got off to a good start,” Malone said. “I went back and looked at our starts to the season in my first two years here. Both years, after 20 games, we were 7-13. … We have a schedule that if we’re 7-13 after 20 games again, we’re in trouble.”
Amen, brother. Get off to the same slow start and Malone will stand from the opening tip to final buzzer of every game, because his seat will be too hot to be comfortable. Fingers of blame will get pointed at him.
The Nuggets want to be somebody in the Western Conference. We don’t mean somebody that can challenge Golden State, such a prohibitive favorite to win the NBA championship that the Warriors’ odds of 5-12 in Las Vegas
appear to be either a misprint or a sucker bet at first glance. But wouldn’t a first-round playoff series against crazy Russell Westbrook, our buddy Carmelo Anthony and Oklahoma City be fun?
In a city itching to embrace a new star, center Jokic is the passer that Trevor Siemian never will be. The demeanor and skill set of Jokic, however, are perfect for him to be the supporting actor for a bona fide superstar on a legitimate championship contender. For example: Put Jokic next to LeBron James in Cleveland, and the Cavaliers would be a real threat to dethrone Golden State.
The best Nuggets president Tim Connelly could do was pair Jokic with Paul Millsap, whose professionalism, defense and rebounding will be fine assets to this team. But just because Denver gave Millsap a $30 million salary doesn’t mean it will transform him into one of the league’s top 15 players, or a dominant personality who carries teammates on his back. This presents an interesting and tricky challenge for Malone, who bluntly admits Millsap has struggled at times to figure out how he can mesh offensively with Jokic.
“Sometimes, you need a guy just to say: ‘Give me the ball. I’m going to make a play,’ ” Malone said.
Know who is that give-me-theball type of basketball player? Jimmy Butler. He’s fiery, unafraid to take the big shot and not shy about getting in a teammate’s grill. But on the night of the NBA draft, when Butler was traded from Chicago to Minnesota, the Nuggets couldn’t close the deal for a scorer reliable for 20 points almost each and every night of a long NBA season.
Maybe point guard Jamal Murray will be that crunchtime alpha dog when he grows up, the Batman to role of Robin that would fit Jokic so well. But right here, right now, in a season that must be more than another false promise by the Nuggets, Malone has to piece together the puzzle of an imperfect roster in a way that puts Denver firmly as the fifth or sixth seed in the West, rather than sweating out an invitation to the postseason in April.
A little more than 48 hours prior to the opening tip of a season in which Malone must produce the first winning record for Denver since 2013, the coach abruptly interrupted his postpractice news conference by uttering a four-letter word. His eyes grew hard with worry as Malone peered at the far end of the court, where top reserve Will Barton had fallen painfully in a heap on the floor, hurting his ankle. Curses. More trouble.
As coach of the Nuggets, Malone is learning: It’s always something.