Michael Malone calls out his players for being ‘soft’ in Denver’s preseason

Something very curious happened this past weekend during the preseason match between the Nuggets and Suns at Ball Arena, when coach Michael Malone intentionally put his pupils to the test to challenge their current physique. The tactician played his five starters for the entire third quarter without any rest.

That’s what preseason games are for, right? To get back in shape and try out new strategies. Even though Denver lost 118-114, they took out a lot of positive conclusions from that clash between two great Western Conference teams.

“[I] tried to push their envelope a little bit,” Malone explained after the contest. “That was probably a little bit hard on some of those guys. And then in practice, I think we can get up and down more. … The league has gotten so soft; everybody’s afraid to condition and run. We have to.”

Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone Is Already Calling Out His Own Players For Being Soft And Out Of Shape https://t.co/Cpg99MRgG7 pic.twitter.com/c7CIDtABvD

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Once again, the Nuggets are set to enter this next campaign as one of the favorites to win the West. However, if you want to extend your success all throughout the postseason, a roster needs to have enough conditioning to maintain high-intensity basketball in the final stages of the competition.

This is why Malone wants to get the best out of his players. “I don’t think we’re in great condition right now, and that’s one thing we talked about as coaches during the game,” he assured. “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 Colorado club still has two more tuneup matches before they start the season on October 24 against Oklahoma City. This Thursday evening, they will clash against the Timberwolves at Minnesota’s Target Center.

Even though the Nuggets haven’t won a game since the preseason began, their coach is convinced that they will shake off last campaign’s disappointment. “Obviously every year is a new journey, a new opportunity,” Malone said. “You have the highest victory, first franchise championship in 47 years. Disappointing loss last year. So now that motivates you to come back even better.”

The Nuggets coach explains why he doesn’t want to take Jokic’s greatness for granted heading into this upcoming 2024-25 campaign

If one thing is for sure, is that Michael Malone knows he has a shinny jewel in his roster that has inspired and led the squad into greatness. Not only did they conquer the 2022-23 title together, but Nikola Jokic has earned three league MVP awards with the same coach on the helm.

“I grew up in this business,” the Denver tactician said at the start of the month, explaining how he’s used to being around great athletes. “My father was a coach and when you’re around greatness like that, they don’t come along very often.”

Malone believes that consistency is what truly makes the difference. “I’ve been blessed in my NBA career to be around great players like Nikola, Steph Curry, LeBron James. Now a guy like (new signing) Russell Westbrook, a future Hall of Famer, and you appreciate their greatness, their consistency.

“But the one thing I’d say for everybody with Nikola: he’s an even better person. He’s never changed. The MVPs, the championship, he’s still the same guy. I love his humility and I love how he comes to work every single day to try to get better,” he anticipated this week.