NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LAKERS VS. NUGGETS

September 17, 2020

Michael Malone

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. What has it been like transitioning from a Jazz team that played so much pick-and-roll, to a Clippers team that played so much isolation, to now a Lakers team that likes to run so much in transition?

MICHAEL MALONE: Have you been preparing that question all day (laughter)?

Q. All day (laughter).

MICHAEL MALONE: The delivery was on point. That was pretty good.

The only good thing about this series is that unlike going into the Utah and Clippers series, just having a day to prepare as a staff. We took off yesterday with our players, gave them the day off both mentally and physically.

That allowed us as a staff to get together and really kind of dig into the Lakers and prepare our game plan and our points of emphasis and themes, if you will, going into this series which we went over today with our guys, will hit on again tomorrow morning at shootaround, and hopefully put into play tomorrow night during the game.

That’s party of it. I think the Lakers are probably the most rested team in the bubble. They've taken care of business. Give them credit in that regard.

Our guys seem to be pretty locked in to our next challenge coming up.

Q. Can you give us any insight on what those themes are? What was your reaction to Nikola Jokic being named to the All-NBA Second Team?

MICHAEL MALONE: Yeah, obviously we talked about Nikola making the Second Team All-NBA, which is an honor. It speaks to Nikola's greatness, but also speaks to our team being a team of note and playing well.

I think he was more than deserving to be a First Team All-NBA center. I think his stats, our record, his play in the clutch, his productivity, all that stuff backs that up. But we applaud Nikola's Second Team All-NBA and we're happy for him.

As far as the themes going into this, to me it's really simple. Obviously LeBron is one of the greatest to ever do it. Anthony Davis is an MVP candidate every year. We'll cover their plays and all that stuff, but it starts in transition.

They are the best running team in the NBA. That gave us some problems in the Clippers series, so we have to get back and make sure we're not allowing LeBron to go coast-to-coast, finding their shooters.

The second thing is defending the paint. They're the number one paint scoring team in the NBA. How do you do that? That's transition. That's one-on-one containment. They're going to post LeBron and A.D. a ton, so our post defense has to be on point.

The last thing is sometimes their best offense is a missed shot. They eat up the offensive glass. We cannot try to make this a jumping contest. If this is a track and field event, we're going to lose. We have to get back, slow them down, hit them and make them try to play in the halfcourt as much as possible.

Much easier said than done, but hopefully our guys are up for that challenge.

Q. How are you planning on going down 3-1 so you can get to your best basketball? This team throws a lot of lobs, but they do it not necessarily out of pick-and-roll but different cuts. Is that easier to defend in the Playoffs when guys have more focus or still a concern?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, we actually did petition the league to see if we could just get right to it and start 3-1 down, save everybody a lot of time, catch up to the Eastern Conference. But that was shot down (smiling).

Yeah, their length and athleticism, I think they'll go back to playing big. Against Houston they downsized. When they started JaVale McGee, when they back him up with Dwight Howard, and then you can slide Anthony Davis over to the side, tremendous size, length, athleticism around the basket.

How can we take away the 57 points in the paint they averaged against us in the regular season, not allowing their bigs to get behind us. They get it from spin-out lobs in the post, get it from transition. They get it from Dwight and JaVale just being around the basket.

When they beat you on the initial drive and you step up to help, there's that lob right at the rim. That's where you have to have bodies syncing and filling behind and hitting them. We can't make this a jumping contest because they have the advantage in that area, no doubt.

Q. Can you talk about the transitions you’ve had to make from one series to the next?

MICHAEL MALONE: That first round was so full of emotion, even aside from the on-court Game 7, that the last play Mike Conley shot going in and out. But prior to that Game 7, the emotional questions and concerns and ups and downs, are we even going to finish these Playoffs. I think getting through the seven-game, another 3-1 comeback, only team to ever do that.

I think having a day yesterday, that's the first time we had a day just to relax to go into a prep day. I think that will really help us out.

I think the biggest question aside from themes, plays, personnel, is are our guys satisfied. Man, we just made Playoff history, down 3-1, down 3-1. We've gotten to the Western Conference Finals only the second time in franchise history. Take a breath, come up for air. The Lakers aren't coming up for air. They've been waiting. I know LeBron, having been around him. They're going to try to come out and send a message tomorrow.

I don't think our guys are satisfied. That's going to be the greatest challenge, tomorrow can we match the intensity. I thought in Game 1 against the Clippers we did it for a quarter and a half, couldn't sustain it. I think we were just gassed. Hopefully tomorrow we're able to put forth a 48-minute effort.

Q. When Jamal [Murray] came in as a rookie, by that time you had been in the NBA for years. When you talked about leadership, were there guys you wanted him to look at, emulate from players you'd been around? What has the catalyst been for his improvement in leadership since then?

MICHAEL MALONE: It's really funny. As I think about the five-year journey we've been on, when we drafted Jamal on draft night, how excited we were. That night, we had him third. We didn't think there was any way in hell he'd drop to us. Thankfully he did.

Then you think with his rookie season, he was backing up Gary Harris. We started Emmanuel Mudiay. Jameer Nelson was a backup one. Jamal was Gary Harris' backup. To think in his four years how much has changed, how much he's improved is really remarkable.

I've had the privilege to coach some great players in my 20 years in the NBA. The best leader I've ever been around has been Chris Paul. I've gotten Chris Paul and Jamal together. Jamal went down to work with Chris in the summertime. Chris was willing to do whatever he could do to help.

At the end of the day you have to be true to yourself. Jamal can't be Chris Paul. He has to be the best version of himself. You can learn and take from some of the best to ever do it. I think that's what the hope was getting Jamal with Chris Paul.

Jamal has grown up. He has become more of a leader, more vocal. I think what he did in that Utah series was incredible with his play, but also the emotional leadership he showed for our team. That was contagious. He took the whole team with him, which you don't see very often for such a young player.

His development, his growth... I think when we showed the belief that we had in him by the contract we gave him, you're a foundational piece, we believe in you. This is something you have to understand, take responsibility for. You've got to be better on the court, your preparation, your professionalism, your work ethic, and your leadership.

He's taken all those things into account and tried to be better in every one of those areas, which is all you want. Now you have two core pieces in Nikola and Jamal that are still very young, bought in, have grown up in front of our eyes.

I think most NBA teams, most pro sports teams don't do it that way. It's always a quick fix, go grab a guy, rent a guy. We built this from the ground up, which makes it that much more satisfying.

Q. Those early years with LeBron, I remember you and I talking about the impact you had on him defensively. He had to learn a lot about defending in this league. He's defending pretty well right now. Have you broken down his tape much recently? What do you see from him on that side of the ball?

MICHAEL MALONE: It's funny, when you go back and think about when I was on Mike Brown's staff, I think Mike Brown deserves so much credit for LeBron fully understanding the defensive end of the floor.

He had all the natural tools. Really just came down to the question of does LeBron want to buy into that end. I think he's shown time and time again that he has. That's what allowed us in Cleveland to take such a great step, to have the best record in the NBA two years in a row, 66 wins and the best defense, 61 wins. LeBron was a huge part of that. When your best player buys in, not only buys in but excels in doing so, your team takes off, everybody else will follow suit.

I think it's remarkable what LeBron is still doing at his age. The minutes he's playing, how effective he is on both ends of the floor, and the impact he has on both ends of the floor, his will to win is just incredible. I think he'll probably wind up guarding Nikola this series, like they put Kawhi on Nikola last series.

LeBron is all about doing whatever it takes to win the game. It's going to be a hell of a challenge playing against a guy that's arguably the best to ever do it. I think our guys are excited about that.

Q. Do you have an update on Will Barton, if he's going to be available at all during this series?

MICHAEL MALONE: Yeah, only update I would have on that is he is working his butt off in Miami with his trainers, doctors, trying to get healthy. I do not have an updated timeframe in terms of when Will could possibly return.

We were exchanging messages after our Game 7 win. He was so excited and happy for our group, obviously wished he could be here. I would love to get him back. Even if he's not able to play, I would love for Will to be here and be a part of this.

Will, Gary, Nikola I think are the three guys that have been here since the day I got here. They are such a big part of going from 30 wins to 54, now being a team in the Western Conference Finals. I know he's working hard trying to get healthy. Hopefully we can get him back here to be a part of this. He definitely is a big part of it.