It’s time for Michael Malone’s free pass with the Nuggets to expire
May 24, 2021, 6:27 AM
Before the regular season even ended, people were making excuses for the Nuggets. If and when Denver got bounced from the playoffs, the spin was already in place.
Jamal Murray’s injury was simply too much to overcome. Throw in Will Barton and P.J. Dozier also being out, and the Nuggets were practically fighting with both hands tied behind their back.
What a bunch of poppycock!
But this is nothing new. It’s a continuation of the free pass that has been given to Michael Malone.
The Nuggets head coach has done a nice job during his tenure in Denver. He took over a team that was languishing near the bottom of the standings and helped them grow into a perennial playoff contender.
That’s admirable. That’s worthy of recognition.
It doesn’t mean, however, that the head coach is immune from criticism. But that certainly seems to be the case in the Mile High City.
Malone entered the current series against the Blazers with a lot of advantages. These seem to have been forgotten.
His team had home-court, which they’ve already squandered. They boast the probable MVP of the league in Nikola Jokic. They have one of the NBA’s next stars in Michael Porter Jr. And the roster is stuffed full of other very solid players, including Aaron Gordon, who was acquired at the trade deadline.
Yet, it’s seemingly unreasonable to expect Malone to beat the No. 6 seed. That’s been declared too tall of order by most people who follow the team.
Why? When did Portland turn into a title contender?
Yes, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are great players. But the rest of the roster is just average.
It’s why Portland finished with the eighth seed a year ago and barely avoided the play-in round this season. They’re a good team, but certainly not great.
So why can’t Malone be expected to find a way to beat them, even without Murray, Barton and Dozier? He has the MVP, for crying out loud!
But this is nothing new. Despite plenty of postseason missteps in the past, Malone had escaped any and all accountability.
His first trip to the postseason with the Nuggets came two years ago. It took Denver seven games to beat the No. 7 Spurs in round one. Then, they fell on their home court to the Blazers in Game 7 of the second round.
But it was their first time in the postseason. They had to learn the rigors of playoff basketball. That’s not on Malone, everyone was told.
Last year, they fell behind 3-1 in each of the first two rounds, but managed to bounce back to beat the Jazz and Clippers. Those were impressive feats, but glossing over the fact that his team fell into holes that probably were only surmountable because the games were being played on a neutral court seems overly generous.
A loss in the first round this year would mean Malone is 3-3 in playoff series with the Nuggets. He’ll be 1-2 when having home-court advantage.
Still no alarm bells?
Currently, Malone’s postseason record is 16-18. Unless Denver rallies to beat Portland is six games or less, that’ll likely remain below .500 when the Nuggets postseason run ends.
Do these things suggest that Malone is a bad coach? Of course not. But they are concerning.
There’s also no evidence that Malone is a head coach who can guide a team to a title. There’s nothing to suggest that he can help his franchise overachieve in the postseason.
To not question whether or not he’s the right guy to help the Nuggets take the next step would be irresponsible. The franchise’s window with Jokic, Murray and Porter Jr. won’t last forever. Denver doesn’t want to come to a realization about Malone a season or two too late.
Continually dismissing his team’s failures puts them at risk of making that mistake. It raises the possibility that prime years will be wasted.
That’s why Malone has to prove his mettle in this series. Are things stacked against the Nuggets? Sure. But who cares?
Malone’s roster is as good as the one Portland trots out, even without Murray, Barton and Dozier. He has plenty to work with in an attempt to beat the Blazers.
This is a prime opportunity for Malone to prove that he’s the right guy. A ton of coaches can win when they have a huge talent advantage. The great ones overcome problems, game plan around weaknesses and find a way to maximize their strengths.
If the Nuggets are ever going to win an NBA championship, they’ll need a great coach to get them there. Is Michael Malone that guy?
We will find out in the next 10 days or so. That’s when the free pass should expire for the Nuggets head coach.
