Michael Malone EXTREMELY Disappointed after Nuggets Game 2 Loss 

Clippers fan here. Christian Braun is their best wing defender and should be starting this series to guard Ant. KCP is too small. Gordon needs to hunt mismatches and get into the paint. Denver's bench is playing better than their starters.

Dear Mike Malone, Put Christian Braun on Edwards till he fouls out. Then Peyton till he fouls out. WE NEED PHYSICAL PLAY. KCP can play second half. Love, Michael

Tough to be a strong leader when you shoot 3/18.

nobody talks about it but this series was over last summer and at the February trade deadline. i was very surprised the nuggets made no moves. even a championship team can't bring the same team back and expect to win. and they brought back a lesser version of themselves. the landscape of the nba changes so rapidly now that what looked good last year doesn't look so good this year.

Jamal didn't struggle tonight... his struggling since Game 1 vs Lakers...

This man is a true leader. Absolute respect for Coach Malone. I’d love to play for him. Even in defeat, the man leads by example. A true players coach.

The solution is simple, tell Murray to stop shooting and to only facilitate and defend. Jokic and Micheal Porter Jr should be the first and second option.

The players undoubtedly deserve blame, but the game plan by the coaches to counter the first loss failed miserably.

Without that two man game working, Nuggets are totally harmless and predictable. Also, allowing defence to hammer Jokić on every possession with no calls, helps Wolves a lot, and Jokić needs to man up and face the test and start being aggressive and efficient.

Cristian Bruan should have spent the summer working on 3 point shooting He would be able to lock up Edwards and be the third guy that could create his own shot. Should be a starter next year He is really good but he can’t shoot to save his life. The nuggets have to play team ball have the other guys move the ball around to keep the wolves off balance

Jamal outside the 2 4th quarters against lakers had been straight awful. Kcp doesn’t do enough. Bench can’t score. Jokic needs to be more aggressive and quicker to shoot.

I have thought for years that defense has disappeared from the NBA. The Wolves showed me that its still alive. I have never seen such a swarming and suffocating defense like I saw last night.

Everybody on the Nuggets were frustrated and angry and it impacted their game for the last three quarters. They need to execute. They have been slipping a lot. Hopefully this loss makes them play with all they got.

I said after game 1 and I will repeat it again, Nuggets must ADJUST, can not just go out there and play their game or else will be swept! This Minnesota team is different, they play unbelievable defense and you need to play them differently in offense, Jokic needs to work from the low post to conserve energy, whole Nuggets team must match the energy level and focus of Minnesota all 48 minutes! Defense must be tightened like fighting for dear life! Nuggets are heading to the broom work if they don’t ADJUST NOW!!!

Malone was out-couched tonight. He himself acknowledged that. Before this game I said that to have a real chance to win the series against the Timberwolves Nuggets need 4 of their starting 5 to play every game on a great level. Tonight there were only 2 on a descent level: Gordon and Jokic, Murray had a straight bad game, and Porter was awful. The fifth guy was almost unnoticeable. From the bench only Braun brought a little fresh energy for a short period of time. Plus Denver’s game is too much Jokic-centered, and he is tired and cannot compensate for everybody else. Plus this makes Denver’s game tactically too predictable and limited.

⁠​⁠30+ year Nuggets fan here... Let's remember that OKC and MN were on top pretty consistently all year and DEN was up and down even in their wins. When teams get physical with them they struggle, especially JM. I've thought all year that DEN inability (or desire) to take an offensive charge would hurt them. Way too many green light drives to the hoop. All year pundits have said DEN repeat but I don't think they watched every game. I did, and though my heart remains kind of hopeful but my brain (and eyes) thinks it's not our year. And serious props to MN. They are kicking butt!

Bruce Brown took the Nuggets heart with him when he left.

Keep Pushing 🔥

Somewhere out there, somehow, somebody is having a good time watching this...

Murray should be suspended game 3, He threw a towel first at the ref then the heating pad at the ref

Honestly as a fan it’s disappointing but you can’t win them all! we have a great coach & even if we don’t win the series let’s not forget about last year, thanks to him we got our first championship & name out there! win or lose im still a nuggets fan for life! it’s not over till it’s over 🙏🏼💙💛

Nuggets, remember you came back from 3-1 twice!! Stop imploding and toughen up.

I respect coach Malone. I'm just baffled how a coaching staff of over 20 people can't see the obvious difference in the team this season. Fans enjoyed the Nuggs last season because they spaced AND moved without the ball. They hit their cutting lanes. They made good decisions with the ball. This season they're playing the same lazy basketball style of spacing WITHOUT movement prevalent in the NBA. Without intensity. They got away with it against a Lakers team prone to poor defensive spells. The symptom of all this is Jokic isn't seeing his teammates move the same and he's now forcing a lot of bad turnovers. The Nuggs have falllen into the "make or miss" style of offense instead of imposing their system onto their opponent and putting them on their heels. And now they've run into a younger and hungrier team and theyve focused on shutting down Murray and its been very effective. Perhaps desperation will wake up this coaching staff to evaluate the film and ask if these players are committed to the style that won last season? Because this year they don't resemble a championship-level team thats fun to watch.

Nice game Mikey! Looked good out there Mike!

I am watching two injured players not even be close to their usual quality play. Murray and KCP are hurting, both have lost a step and ability to cut. Minnesota is playing swarming defense that the Nuggets haven’t figured out. Jokic looks exhausted having carried the load for most of the season. Even MPJ looked befuddled last night.

With all due respect, let me coach this team. First, stop complaining to and about the refs. The few seconds with their hands up looking at the ref, is a few seconds they're not playing defense. The refs are taking away defensive focus. Speaking defense, deny, deny, deny. In your face, intense, never let go defense, act, don't react. Deny your guy the ball. Next, use the bench, unless Jordan is injured, get his butt on the court. Even for a few minutes at a time, he has 5 fouls available, use them. Body up somebody. Wear somebody down. Get Watson in the game, get Braun in the game, play DEFENSE. Get physical. Stop their offense, nothing else matters. Hand in every face. Every shot contested. On offense, stop hesitating, take the shot, 2-3 guys crash the boards. Shoot, shoot, shoot, keep shooting, stop dribbling unless driving and dishing. Take shots, alot of shots. Don't slow down, dont play a half court game. Use the bench, run, run, run. Run, shoot, 2 guys crashing, defense. Aggressive defense, aggressive offense. Go Nuggets!!!!

Again can we please use BRAUN as the main defender for Edwards! Braun atleast is doin a good Job against Edwards! As much as I love KCP he's just to small for Edwards! Plus He's injured!

Nuggets were not focused and not intense. Size is not the issue. Prime Draymond Green was undersized and smaller than most centers yet he out hustled them all. Ben Wallace was 6 foot 9 yet a nightmare on the boards. The truth is Jokic, AG, Murray, KCP and MPJ played with no heart and soul. No hunger. They deserve to be 0-2 down. They let their fans down. If they keep playing like this they deserve to be swept.

Give braun and pwat at least 18mins each. Let the others start shooting threes as early as possible. Dont bait for fouls and let jokic play traditional Center, cut some touches and most importantly try to rely on MPJ as the main scorer.

As a nuggets fan, I’m fuckin pissed at Jamal. Dude let the whole organization down with that petty behavior the last 2 games. Stop whining, make adjustments, and stay hungry. With that being said Wolves looking like they will take it all this year.

Hope ADJUSTMENTS are gonna be made next game

I don’t get it .. they couldn’t afford to resign their bench from last year?? Why did they let them go?

Jokic is the only one in NBA history to win a ring without any All Star players!!!

Got to make adjustments as a coach! Throw some more bigs out there like D’jordan. Draw up some offensive plays instead of having them boys play elementary playground basketball. Calm our team down! ADJUST!!!

. The Nuggets gentleman swept the Wolves last year and had three double digit wins in that series, includuding a 20 point blowout. The difference is that this year's roster is way worse because a) Jamal is injured (he averaged 27 on good efficiency last year against this same Wolves defense)and Bruce Brown is gone ( the best perimeter defender, secondary ball handler and sixth man). With Brown gone and Murray hurt the Nuggets have almost no perimeter ball handling, shot creation, playmaking and scoring. That's why they are underwhelming this playoffs. The 2024 Nuggets aren't the 2023 Nuggets.

I will be dissapointed if we lose this series, but I still think this group of players is absolutely amazing, the best we ever had, no comparison, and I will always enjoy watching them play and support them no matter what!!!!! I feel blessed I live in the same era as these Nuggets players and it´s coach. They are humans and can make mistakes but for me it´s clear that they gave their very best, that´s indisputable. Lets see what happens in Minnesota...

Reggie and Deandre NEED to be on the floor together. Their two man game in my opinion would probably work better than Joker and Murray right now. Starting lineup should be: Reggie, Holiday, Watson, Gordon, and, Deandre. Let’s try that for a few mins and see what happens. Gotta start trusting your 2nd unit more especially since that’s where most of our length is.

The last thing he mentioned on the fans booing was spot on. I noticed I didn’t hear any encouragement from the fans when shit hit the fan lol. Yea they’re playing like dog shit but damn try to encourage them instead of kicking them while they’re down.

Poise starts with the coach. When coach unravels the players follow.

Straight up the Nuggets did not bring the intensity they had last year. The coach said you have to man up get out there and fight for this series the Joker is not going to beat the Wolves by himself.

Does Denver even play defense? they look totally lost on pick & rolls, and everything else too.

From the middle of the 2nd quarter, every time MN made a shot Jokers shoulders slumped. He's donezo.

Coach will remember eventually but last year he challenged the team, this team, the same team, night in and night out to be what the TWolves are currently which is a defensive minded, physical all for one team. The offense builds from the defense. Period. Giving credit to the TWolves is now over. Show the league that you are the Pride of the West. Come out game 3 with your open wounds bleeding all over the court and still manage to put your jaws around your preys neck and hold them until they are no more. N U G G E T S

Really wish to have some hope on Denver comeback..but last game makes me loose hopes.. not because they lost..it is because they really don’t have any answer for wolves defense.. poor shooting form of KCP/AG/Jamal kills big time..Jamal tries to play ISO ball too much bcoz of the team’s poor shooting.. Joker is always doubled by 2 bigs and when he push out others miss it almost regularly.. on the other hand Joker is not even attempting to block the driving guards..not sure how the shooting will improve in away game..wolves had a bad shooting night on game1 and Denver missed to capitalize.. what else are the options to win I don’t know.. better to start with Strawther and spread the floor well for Joker double team and rest Jamal for second half..Joker has to protect paint and Jamal has to shoot well.. no other way

love mike, let's get this team turned around and rattle off a few wins

This series has been over since the start, especially last night how the wolves fans were chanting wolves in 4 against the defending champs is crazy good luck in Minnesota

Coach Malone Focus was Lakers.. his mission was to beat Lakers. His fine losing to the wolfs.

Every nuggets must step up, esp Murray and MPJ!!!

Jamal coming off the bench? Jokic to handle the ball and put Kat/Gobert into foul trouble, whether they double at the top of the key or at the block, run screens and look to find MPJ, KCP and Braun for open looks on the 3-point line. Gotta become a 3-point shooting team, the paint is too clogged they know Denver scores the majority of their points in the paint… Flip the script. The 2-man game between Jok and Mal is not there this series. Start: KCP Braun MPJ Gordon Jokic

gotta love the NBA. denver spent all their money on starters and they have no bench. now they cannot repeat. jokic is amazingly skilled but he just does not want a second championship enough. he is ready to go hang out with horses. I cannot blame him. it takes an insane person want to win year after year.

Reporter: Where are Jamal and Jokic right now? Coach: There in the locker room right now.taking showers. 😂😂

Its done.Denver dont have answer for Minnesota.Time for fishing

I’m a Denver fan. But ya’ll need to take a bite of some humble pie and stop expecting calls handed to you. I get the charge call you wanted. But If they don’t call it, get down the floor and get the ball back. Stop cryin about things every single possession

I wonder who Denver picks up in the off season

Honestly even Orlando and the Knicks could have posed problems for the Nuggets due to both teams having stingy defense

The way we have been playing is uncharacteristic and we had one of the toughest schedules in the nba. All I gotta say is the wolves better hope that we keep playing the way we are

A hearbreaking loss! 💔

Deandre Jordan needs to play he can help ! We need bigger bodies and tougher play ! Murray needs to not let refs get to him so fast !

Your focus was on game 2...????

Somebody is thinking about horses and not basketball

MPJ should be a stretch 4. Gordon off the bench

You cannot count on a frequently injured number 2. Even w/o the knee injury Jamal has got that Embid thing. Misses a lot of games and comes out shooting at a low percentage too often Even in the two laker games where he was the savior; overall he played badly.

When Nuggets didn’t pick up bonifide help this past off season I knew they may not repeat. Murray hurt, Jokic tired. Too many interviews.

Agreed with a lot of the comments. Please quit driving the starters into the ground. Use KCP off the bench to spread the floor with his shooting and as a secondary scorer (as weird as that sounds) off the bench. Make him pressure Monte Morris like ANT and Nickiel did to Jamal and see how they like it. Unfortunately, we're going to have to play Reggie a decent amount of minutes because Jamal is torn up and we need him to finish the playoffs without a body cast. Yes, the Nuggets failed to execute, but I feel like that is partially due to the fact that the starters are exhausted and injured versus a young/athletic/deep Timberwolves team. Yes, it is risky to play guys like PWAT or Nnaji (who would be a great cover on Naz Reid); but it's even more dangerous to do what we are doing and lose 4 - 1 while we watch Jamal lose his cool/other ACL/pride. Please put CB and Peyton Watson on ANT. After CB tires him out physically, let Peyton swat his shots out of midair and wipe that smirk off his face.

I still dont get why KCP and Murray is on the floor while Braun is doing better.. Bruce Brown and Uncle Jeff needs to come back

that locker room was 🤐🥴😵‍💫😵😑😐😶

KARMA- This coach has been way to boastful in victory. They just lack humility as a team.

Previous nba champion should run it back i dont understand they done run it back

Mentioned in a Jokic post gm presser vid, leadership. Will see what kind of leadership exhibits from, everyone, now down 2. One can X's and O's until cows come home. All that is #2. #1 is leadership. Will see what this reveals in the Nuggets. Will say, Murray throwing a heat pack onto the floor way drops him down in his status as a star player, just to mention one thing. That, plus he's been mouthy recently... dude needs to draw in, shayddup, focus emotion and not in stupid ways which he is prone to doing it seems... redeem. Hurt or not. Not disappointing. Just revealing of who he is, will be, as a player. Same goes for every player in every sport of every age everywhere on the planet.

Laker Fan here, Minnesota has gotten inside of the nuggets head, Murray, especially, they're bench is deeper and better. Nuggets don't have enough even with the officials. Series is over in 4

When their defense swarms your offense, you don’t continue to pass the ball. Nothing but forced turnovers. One of the Nuggets’ strengths is their fast disposal when putting the ball in the basket. They are not properly prepared and are not objectively seeing the obvious. Coach Saunders (defense coach) has been disrespected by KCP for much of the year. KCP can go. Nuggets need to swarm Anthony and Towns.

I played a lot of ball in New York City division one, the cage in Rucker Park. however, when the other team is playing such swarming defense smacking poking prodding and nothing is being called. It is so defeating to realize you’re not playing five and five but you’re playing five on six because the refs are on their side. And I thought the new bad boys of Detroit Miami Heat were bad. Hopefully they won’t destroy the game. I love even more.

I agree that the nuggets need to switch up the defenders on Edwards

The problem I think is that Denver ain't making shots. Teams were forced to scatter their defenses last season (even the Wolves) because Murray was Steph Curry incarnate during the playoffs, and the Joker would chuck the ball anywhere on the court and somehow it would always go down. Doesn't matter how hard they defended, if anybody from Denver had the ball, it would go down regardless of the defense. That put fear in teams last year. This year, they ain't that team anymore. Wolves' defense was stifling because Denver's shooting bad and they're forced to resort to cutting and slashing through the wolves physical defense to even get to the rim. Last year they were making it rain so defenses would have to scatter, and Jokic thrived on defensive errors.

Was disappointed to see this team unravel mentally first, and then physically, second. What I am seeing is a lack of adjustments to this physical style of play by Minn. Murray, Jokic, and Porter all three made obscene number of turnovers. It seemed they didnt adapt to being funneled into the teeth of the defense. Just kept doing the same things. How many stripped balls did we see? Why drive against the trees? Just kick the ball out. I also failed to see off the ball movement, cuts, etc to counter what Minn was doing. Just one on one iso ball, which resulted into taking bad shots (end of shot clock to boot) or turnovers. If the nuggets want to win a game, they need to rethink how they run their offense. It needs a total overhaul - Murray and Jokic two man game not working. When it comes to defense, I saw multiple breakdowns first, then they gave up altogether. When they switch, Jokic gets scored on all the time. In addition, nobody comes to help from the weak side. Seems to me communication is lacking on D. In conclusion, not looking good. Major adjustments in strategy required. It is gonna be too late for this year. Minn wins this series in 5.

THE ONLY WAY THE NUGGETS WIN THIS SERIES IS BY BEING MORE INTENTIONAL PLAYING THROUGH JOKIC IN THE POST WITH HIM HAVING THE INTENT TO SCORE OR GET TO THE FREE THROW LINE. HE HAS TO ATTACK THERE BIGS PHYSICALLY GETTING THEM IN FOUL TROUBLE. HOWEVER THIS T’WOLVES FRONT LINE IS BASICALLY EXPOSING THE ONE FATAL FLAW IN JOKIC GAME: JOKIC LACK OF ELITE LEVEL ATHLETICISM IS GLARING AGAINST TEAMS WITH THAT PERSONNEL WHICH INTURN CAN MAKE JOKIC LOOK MORTAL AT TIMES AND OUTMATCHED. WHEN YOUR FRONT LINE IS BUILT LIKE THE T’WOLVES AND HEALTHY BUCKS, JOKIC CAN BE EASILY SCHEMED OUT OF A SERIES BY PLAYING HIM STRAIGHT UP AND MAKING HIM DROP 60 EVERY GAME. JOKIC BEING A FACILITATOR STANDING AT THE TOP OF KEY IN THIS SERIES AGAINST THIS T’WOLVES FRONT LINE AND THEIR DEFENSE WILL SIMPLY NOT WORK.

Nuggets got beat down by a wolves team with no Gobert , man card taken away , nuggets front office stupid for not upgrading the bench better , the run is over

Micheal Malone lost this game for them with his antics. He was disgraceful

What JORDAN DOINGS every game on bench..?? Just celebrate if somebody score.??????

Idc for a repeat. I still believe we can win multiple championships. It's aight. Ride or die. Mile high.

They need too put a full game together this isn’t the Lakers

He took some responsibility respect

The toughest truth is that what the T-Wolves are doing is sustainable. It would be one thing if They went 19/28 from 3 and shot 70% . They can’t do that every game but they can bring that defense every game.

You need traded all except Jokic and Ag @denvernuggets

put jokic in the low post, tighten up the offense and attack the paint. minnesota is long, u dont want to play slow or wide against a long time.

Your former assistant is outcoaching you ! And the former GM outGMd Booth!

This series is over. Sweep very likely. If Nuggets shoot the lights out for a game, they can maybe win one but probably not. They haven't had a good shooting game in 7 games of the playoffs. This is humiliating for the Nuggets. Wow. T-Wolves are so much better, it is insane.

True fans will be here no matter what. We love you guys and appreciate EVERYTHING!

refs lost in this game ,The refs clearly prefer the Timberwolves

This is why I think it is a mistake to not give Jokic a playmaking point guard. Had they still had Monte Morris, perhaps this doesn't happen since he makes good decisions unlike Murray who jacks up too many bad shots.

I h a ve said it many times nuggets need to find a offence christian braun and aaron gordan need to step up Try Benching joker he doesnt seem ....

Its over

Sometimes, the other team is better. Denver doesn't have enough

Jamal needs to sit down for game 3 after his pathetic display tonight.

It's a sweep there is absolutely no way denver can beat this team right now

Welp good luck. Try to make it a series so i can make money on both sides easy

Come back with vengeance guys! Greetings from 🇦🇹 🇷🇸

I respect coach Malone a lot. But at some point you have to change things up. Seems like we are playing insanity basketball meaning running and playing the same sets over and over and expecting different results. Players stunk but Malone Never blames himself. Is that why players arent playing as hard

Aside from Malone. Players showed zero emotion. Malone said it with the body language.

🃏Jokic's APG is a lot lower this year, compared to last year❗