Malone calls out Nuggets conditioning after 0-3 preseason start

The Denver Nuggets are off to a 0-3 start in the preseason, dropping their Colorado debut on Sunday night—while nobody cares much about the record there is concern about the pickaxes’ conditioning.

This has been a flashpoint for the Nuggets most of the summer since it appeared that they ran out of gas in the second round of the playoffs in the spring. Denver blew a 20-point lead at home in Game 7 against the T-Wolves and the immediate message was one of fatigue for the team coming off a title and then pushing for a No. 1 seed in the West. Of course, part of the Nuggets plan this year will be managing the regular season a bit better in 2024-25 but the team can also focus on getting more stamina to make it through the next several months.

The conditioning question wasn’t just about the team, in general, this summer but one about specifically Jamal Murray. The Nuggets star guard struggled at times in the playoffs and again in the Olympics. Murray was working his way back from an injury in the playoffs and playing through pain. Though some have wanted to blame the injuries he suffered early last season on being out of shape. Still, Murray had the best regular season of his career. The Blue Arrow had career highs in points and assists per game and nearly scored his career mark for rebounds a night. He also had the best field goal and three-point shooting marks of his career.

A Murray issue or not is to be debated when it comes to conditioning but nonetheless, the Nuggets are talking about it team-wide.

“I don’t think we’re in great condition right now, and that’s one thing we talked about as coaches during the game,” Malone said on Sunday after the game about the team in general. “Looked like some guys are just winded and a little tired out there. So that’s something that we can try to improve upon.”

The Nuggets have had a strange ramp-up to the season with their trip to Abu Dhabi being the main focus last week. Now back at home, the team has a chance to practice and play their exhibitions. As to when they’ll work on building up some stamina the 10th-year bench boss said he would try to get it done during the dress rehearsals and on the practice court.

“I think some, you can do (during games). Like tonight, I ran those guys the whole third quarter. And obviously, Jamal didn’t play in the second half. But (I) played that starting unit the whole third quarter and tried to push their envelope a little bit. And that was probably a little bit hard on some of those guys.” Malone said. “Then in practice, I think we can get up and down more. I think so often as coaches in modern-day NBA, the league’s gotten so soft everybody’s afraid to condition and run. We have to.”

More concerning about Murray not playing the second half is that during Monday’s Nuggets practice, Malone told reporters that Murray shared that his knee felt “funny” and that’s why the team held him out.

While the Murray question will seemingly persist throughout the season and really come to a head during the postseason—just as the outlook on the Nuggets in general, what is seemingly budding for Opening Night is Michael Porter Jr. The 26-year-old may be ready to take another leap, entering camp with a chip on his shoulder because he felt as though he cost his team in that Game 7. He bulked up in the offseason and is focused on his figure.

“I think it’s just trying to push myself. You can’t really get in basketball shape without playing,” Porter said. “But tonight was just good to see how I feel out there so I can continue to work on it. Keep running up and down the floor. I just felt like I was running the floor well. So I’ve just gotta keep staying in that mindset of getting in better shape, after a good game, after a bad game.”

MPJ is clearly the Nuggets’ best three-point shooter and he will have a big say in how well Denver does this year. The Nuggets were one of the lowest-volume shooting teams from deep last year and they lost two of their better snipers this offseason. Porter will both need to hit at a high rate and get a lot of shots up from downtown. He feels his conditioning will help him do that.

“Running the floor, being active, running to spots and being ready to shoot. The better conditioned you are, the more opportunities will find you because you’re always moving so that’s a big goal for me this year.”

If the Nuggets can instill that team-wide, maybe they can become a faster team in the minutes Nikola Jokic is off the floor. When the MVP is on, they like to play a more prodding style which has been successful. Finding a way to thrive in the moments without the Joker is one of the goals and maybe conditioning can be a solution.