Nuggets coach Michael Malone’s short and to the point, two-minute press conference following his team’s 112-106 loss to the Timberwolves on the final night of the regular season spoke for itself.
The Nuggets closed the season in impressive fashion winning seven of their last eight games but came up just short in game No. 82. After the loss, multiple players including Will Barton and Jamal Murray called this loss the “toughest” of their careers. You can bet Malone shares those same sentiments.
On a recent episode of Nuggets360 that aired on Altitude Television, Malone said that he couldn’t watch the first round of the playoffs because he was still in mourning from the loss in Minnesota and a second-straight season where the Nuggets missed the playoffs by one game.
“It’s really funny. The season ends, and it’s kind of like going through a grieving period. I tried watching the first round, and I turned it off. I couldn’t watch it,” Malone said. “I was still so frustrated and disappointed and angry, all those different ranges of emotions, if you will, that we weren’t in the playoffs because I said to myself, ‘We’re better than this team. We’re better than that team.’ And we weren’t there. So I couldn’t watch the first round.”
Malone said that he was eventually able to watch the second round.
“For me, it’s important to watch because you can learn,” Malone said. “Whether it’s picking up a play, whether it’s picking up a scheme or a game plan, I think it’s always important to continue to learn from what other people are doing good and bad.”
Why didn’t the Nuggets make the playoffs this season? It depends on who you ask.
Denver won just 15 games away from Pepsi Center this year. The Spurs, who won 14 road games this season, were the only playoff team to win fewer games away from home than the Nuggets. Denver also relied on a young core featuring Jamal Murray (21), Gary Harris (23) and Nikola Jokic (21). Trey Lyles (22) and rookie Torrey Craig (26) also played significant roles for the Nuggets this season. Typically, young teams have difficulty winning away from home and making the playoffs.
Injuries also hit Denver hard this year. Jokic missed a crucial six-game road trip in December where the Nuggets went 2-4. Harris missed 11 games in a row at the end of the season. Marquee free agent signing Paul Millsap missed 44 games with a left wrist injury that required surgery. The Nuggets went 24-20 without Millsap.
“A lot of NBA teams can say this, but if Paul doesn’t miss 44 games, we’re easily a playoff team,” Malone said.
Next season, with Murray, Harris Jokic and Millsap all returning, the Nuggets will get to prove it.
