Michael Malone's blunt halftime message that sparked Denver vs. Hawks
01/02/2025 09:48 AM
To start the new year, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone wants his team to play like they’re in a playoff series, and that’s exactly what they did in the second half against the Atlanta Hawks. The Nuggets gave up 71 points in the first half, and Malone was not a fan of that, even though they were winning.
"There were too many examples in the first half when we were just literally jogging back, and it looked like we were just trying to outscore teams," Malone said via Nuggets reporter Ryan Blackburn. "That might work in the middle of the season. That might work for a stretch of games, but if we are going to be a team that is serious about winning at a high level and trying to make the playoffs and win a playoff series, you can't just give up 70+ points in a half."
The second half was completely different for the Nuggets, and more specifically, the third quarter, where they only allowed the Hawks to score 24 points. From there, the Nuggets blew the game open, and the Hawks had a hard time trying to fight back in the game.
The Nuggets are very familiar with how playoff series go, as they’ve been on a few deep runs themselves. A team like the Hawks wants to outscore you almost every night, but the Nuggets know sometimes you have to slow the game down and lock in defensively.
Nuggets want to focus on defense
The Nuggets are a very good offense, and it’s because they’re led by Nikola Jokic. That’s why they can score 70 points in a half so easily, but they want to be able to not give up 70 points on defense as well.
"Right now, we're really good offensively, but to make us one of the best teams in the league like we've been in the past, we've got to get better defensively,” Michael Porter Jr. said after the game. “And then, I think we have the full package and we can beat anybody. But right now, we are elite offensively and we're very middle-of-the-pack, if not lower, defensively."
The Nuggets have been without one of their defensive marksman in Aaron Gordon, who, more times than not, guards the opposing team’s best player. It can’t just be him who plays defense, but it’s going to take a team effort if they want to get to where they want to go. As the season progresses, it wouldn’t be a shock if they continued to get better on that side of the ball.
The post Michael Malone’s blunt halftime message that sparked Denver vs. Hawks appeared first on ClutchPoints.
