Michael Malone Says Nuggets Didn’t ‘Play Nicely’ in G1 Win vs. Warmth: ‘Protection Was Poor’
Bart Younger/NBAE through Getty Photographs
The Denver Nuggets might have defeated the Miami Warmth 104-93 in Recreation 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals, however Michael Malone nonetheless wasn’t happy along with his staff’s efficiency on the defensive finish.
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“I don’t assume we performed nicely in Recreation 1,” the Nuggets head coach told reporters Saturday. “… I advised our gamers right now, don’t learn the paper, don’t hearken to the oldsters on radio or TV… there are such a lot of issues we will do higher… I believed our protection was poor.”
Instantly after Recreation 1, Malone advised reporters that he felt the staff’s protection was “the place it wanted to be” for 3 quarters however that the fourth quarter may have been higher because the Nuggets allowed 30 factors.
“As I advised our gamers, we’re up 1-0 and that’s nice, however we’ve to shut video games out,” Malone stated Thursday. “We’re up 21 to start out that fourth quarter, they usually open up with a fast 8-0 run. … Within the finals you’ll be able to’t choose and select whenever you need to play. We’ve acquired to play a lot nearer to 48 minutes.”
Miami didn’t make it straightforward for Denver on Thursday evening, and issues may have gone far in a different way had the Warmth knocked down some extra pictures.
The Warmth made simply 39 of 96 pictures from the ground (40.6 %) and 13 of 39 pictures from past the arc (33.3 %) in Recreation 1. Miami additionally shot simply 31 % (5 of 16) on wide-open threes in Recreation 1 after hitting 49 % of wide-open three-pointers within the Jap Convention Finals in opposition to the Boston Celtics.
Denver must do a significantly better job of limiting Miami’s pictures in Recreation 2, particularly contemplating the Nuggets solely tried 79 area objectives on Thursday evening in comparison with Miami’s 96.
Recreation 2 between the Nuggets and Warmth is ready for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET in Denver.
