Another Day, Another Heartbreaking Loss for the Denver Nuggets
Dec 15, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone holds the ball during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 132-120. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets once again blew a lead in the last minute letting many fans down.
The Denver Nuggets seemed to have the win in the bag up until the very end.
They were that close to an impressive win, which is a narrative that is getting very repetitive this season.
The operative word here is “close.”
This is getting rather frustrating for fans who get their hopes up only to be disappointed in the last minute of the game.
While you win as a team and lose a team, Coach Malone once again had a costly mistake that basically ruined the game.
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Here is what one needs to take away from tonight’s heartbreaking loss in Denver.
Feb 23, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) talks with forward Danilo Gallinari (8) in the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Danilo Gallinari was one of the bright spots for the Nuggets tonight.
Not everything was bad for the Nuggets tonight.
There was a few good things that occurred in this game. Danilo Gallinari flashed his true potential achieving a double-double.
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He scored 21 points on 50% shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. One of the knocks against Gallinari all year has been his inconsistency, but tonight, he showed up to play.
He was a dead-eye shot on the court tonight shooting 90% from the free throw line and 50% from 3-point land.
He complemented Wilson Chandler well in the small-ball lineup who had a decent game himself.
One thing is clear, it is head scratching that Malone did not put him in to close the game with how hot he was tonight.
Mar 21, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone reacts during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 124-91. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The speculation about whether Malone should be coaching will continue after tonight.
Okay, so yes, we have been a bit rough on Malone lately. But after tonight, can one really blame us?
The Hawks had a 9-0 run in the last 1:38 of the game. Let that sink in for a moment. The Nuggets scored absolutely no points in nearly 2 minutes, the most important 2 minutes nonetheless, and gave up a ton of free throws to ignite this run for the Hawks.
This is a symptom of poor coaching and an inability to execute in close, late game situations. Now, in his defense, the referees did make some questionable calls, but that is still no excuse for getting a technical foul allowing Atlanta to make an extra free-throw and then still refusing to play Nurkic at all.
Even when Nikola Jokic fouled out in the last minute, Malone still did not sub Nurkic in, whose size Denver desperately needed.
In the long run, this ended up costing the Nuggets the game resulting in yet another 1 point loss on the year. This is now multiple times that Malone’s coaching has been questioned in close games where Denver failed to hold on to the lead.
Therefore, it is fair to say that Malone has had a big part of this year’s up and down year for the Nuggets.
