NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LAKERS VS. NUGGETS

September 26, 2020

Michael Malone

Denver Nuggets

Game 5: Pregame

Q. After last night's game, Brad [Stevens] talked about that his team just cared to compete. When you win six elimination games already, is it that simple, that, when you boil it down, the essence is you guys just care to compete?

MICHAEL MALONE: Whatever works for Boston works for Boston and Brad. For us it's just been taking it one game at a time and not trying to look at it where we have to win, five, six, seven in one night. So win one quarter at a time, win one game at a time, and go out there with, just relaxed, go out there and play. Play your game, have fun, embrace the moment. Same message tonight. This is the third time we're in this situation. Obviously now we're in the Western Conference Finals against a team that most experts have winning the whole thing. So there really is no pressure on us, just go out there, have fun, compete. You look at the series. Aside from Game 1, Games 2, 3 and 4, it's a tie game. It's dead even. So this series is a lot closer than the 3-1 deficit would appear to be. So, we're going to use that to our advantage and go out there and try to extend this. And we have done it before, why not do it again.

Q. I heard you say quite a few times how many days you've been in the bubble, so you know better than me, but I think it's been more than a month now since the first time you guys faced elimination. Just, whenever this does end, however it does end, what has all this extra time meant to this organization, this team of yours?

MICHAEL MALONE: Yeah, so today's, for the original July 7th flight, there weren't many of us on there, but today is day 82. And whenever this does end, hopefully not for a few more weeks, I don't think we're going to realize in the moment what this whole experience has meant to us individually and collectively. I think we'll need some time to get away, reconnect, and as we reflect on this, I think there's going to be a tremendous amount of satisfaction and pride on what we were able to do as a franchise. Obviously, this is the second time the Nuggets have been in the Western Conference Finals. We're playing against a team that has won, I don't know, 17 world championships. So, for us it's just taking the right steps. Five years in with me as a head coach and I love the direction we're headed at. But when I think about this whole experience, as crazy as it sounds, and it's been hard being away from family, being with the players and staff and the front office, everyone that's here, has made this a lot easier than I imagine it could be otherwise. So terrific group of people, wonderful players, and so proud of our group from beginning to end.

Q. When you're looking at Jamal, for you personally was there any particular performance of his or moment where you thought this was a turning point where you knew, hey, he's going to be a really special player?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, I go back to the night we drafted him and I wish, this is not just coach talk, this is not just revisionist history looking back, when we drafted him there was a lot of excitement. We didn't think there was in chance he would drop to us at number 7 and he did. And then I remember, I think it was his rookie year, we were playing Chicago at home and they were drilling us. We were down big. And Jamal came in the game and it was the first time I kind of got to see a young man who lived for the big moment, who played off the crowd, who was not afraid. And he started, that's when he started slinging all those blue arrows that he does. And that for me was the first time I saw what this young man's capable of. And for him to go from being Gary Harris's backup as a rookie to now becoming our starting point guard and having the ability to put a team on his back, has been really fun to watch and fun to be a part of. Couldn't be more proud of him.

Q. I know you said it's probably going to take time to step back and kind of realize what this all was, but I'm curious what's it like to coach a team and to be, like, embedded with them for 80-plus days? What's that been like for you?

MICHAEL MALONE: Help me out with that question again. What's it been like to coach a team that?

Q. To be with a team for 80 straight days, to live with them, to see them every minute, never being able to escape, what's that been like?

MICHAEL MALONE: Yeah, I'm sure, there's times in this process, and I've tried to take the temperature of our team throughout the day, Hey, we need a day off. The last thing they want to do is see me and hear me. Sometimes it's good for everybody to get away, even after a tough loss. Sometimes the natural inclination is, Hey, we got to get together. We got to get back in the gym. But sometimes I think in this environment where you're together and it's just like, I feel like Bill Murray, I wake up and it's Groundhog Day. It's the same thing over and over and over again and you can't escape it. So, you find ways to give guys the mental space that they need. I think that's really important. It's not just the physical. It's also how are you handling this situation mentally and giving guys outlets and giving them space. But I also think we have done well with this because we are a very close group. We're a group that actually likes being with each other. If you don't have a group that's connected and likes to play, not just with each other, but for each other, I think your days in the bubble will be short-lived and I think that speaks to the chemistry that we have.

Q. You mentioned the direction earlier and I'm sure at some point you guys had a lot of belief, but it now has maybe shifted to expectation, both from the outside and the inside. Have you seen any power in the process of guys getting the internal validation of, this is who we are and where we're supposed to be and also hearing the external validation of like, Jamal Murray is one of the best young guards in the game and Nikola Jokic is a MVP candidate and all those kind of things?

MICHAEL MALONE: Yeah, I would say maybe because we're Denver, small market, not a sexy team by any means, the fact that we built it like a mom and pop shop from within. We have known that Jamal was special, that's why we rewarded him with his contract. We have known that Nikola was special. Foundational pieces that we drafted and we created what we have created through them. I think last year we're a few possessions away of going to the Western Conference Finals and I think that gave us a tremendous amount of belief. For me I often reflect on the five years and to take over a team that won 30 games and to win 33 and then 40 and then 46 and then 54 and then we're on pace to get right around -- I mean that doesn't happen often. And without going out and signing marquee names and big trades, we did it with young players and player development and it was organic in nature. And I think that that's what makes this that much more satisfying. Is that through ownership and their patience we have never felt, Tim Connelly and myself, that we have to, hey we’ve got to make a move, we got to do something. It's just let this continue to grow and build. And as much as last year was gratifying and kind of planting the seeds, this year only confirms it. And this is a crazy situation, who knows what would have happened if the season wasn't put on a hiatus, if everything was played normally, but I think we have just kind of confirmed last year's experience in the playoffs. That we're for real and whether people realize it or not, that's fine. The most important thing for us is that we believe it and I think we have shown that time and time again.