NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

May 30, 2023

Michael Malone

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. You always say that there are themes to a series. Now that you guys have a defined opponent, what are the themes going up against Miami, and what may make them an atypical eight seed?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, as I told our team, forget the eight seed stuff. They beat Milwaukee 4-1. That team had the most wins in the NBA this year. They beat Boston 4-3 and they were up 3-0, the team with I think the second most wins in the NBA this year.

So, you get to the NBA Finals, it's not about seeding anymore, and for those who are thinking that this is going to be an easy series, I don't even know what to say to you people. This is going to be the biggest challenge of our lives. This is the NBA Finals. You're trying to win the first NBA championship in franchise history, and it's going to be the hardest thing that we've ever done, which is the way it should be.

But regarding the themes, obviously a couple things that jump out to me, they're leading the league, the Playoffs rather, in points off turnovers, close to 20 a night, and that's after, I think, 18 games played. So, it's pretty impressive.

On the other end of that is that we're No. 1 in fewest points allowed off of our turnovers. So that's a battle that's going to be really important, and we can't turn the ball over.

We know how good they are on the defensive end. We've had a great offense, in large part because we are shooting the ball well and we're not turning the ball over, so that's really important in terms of not beating ourselves with turnovers.

The three-point line, you have the two best three-point shooting teams in the Playoffs, in the Finals. They're just ahead of us at 39 percent. Obviously, Jimmy and Bam attract so much attention, but you have to give so much credit to Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent. We know Duncan Robinson is a great shooter, we know Max Strus is a great shooter. Tyler Herro will be back at some point. We know what he's capable of. Obviously, just been so impressed with Gabe Vincent, the poise and confidence he's playing with, and Caleb Martin could easily have won the MVP of that Eastern Conference championship. He's just shooting into a very big basket right now, playing with tremendous confidence, so the three-point defense will be really important in terms of us guarding that, and we've done a pretty good job of that throughout the regular season and the Playoffs.

With a guy like Jimmy, you've got to give him different looks. You cannot guard him with the same play or the same scheme over a game, over four quarters or a series. That's going to be a challenge to give him different looks and to keep him off the foul line.

He's third in the Playoffs in free throw attempts per game. I think they're at 9.1. We know a lot of their guys are real big shot fake players, so they're disciplined to stay down, be the second man off the floor. Give them one shot; it's going to be really important.

The last thing I would say is that we have to continue to get out and run. We're second in the Playoffs in fast break points per game. In our two head-to-head meetings, we only averaged nine and a half fast break points against them, which is our third lowest against our 29 opponents.

Getting pace, getting fast break, getting attack, getting altitude into this series while home will be really important.

Q. You've talked a lot about the stability of the franchise, that there's not a lot of drama here. We obviously don't hear or see much of ownership here, but we know Stan Kroenke. Just your thoughts on what it's like working with him, for him, that kind of thing?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, I've gone on record countless times, and I'll do it again. I feel really fortunate and blessed to be working in an organization run by Stan and Josh Kroenke. They gave me a chance eight years ago to lead this team, and the most important part of this last eight years is their ability to be patient and have a big-picture approach and let this thing grow into what it is today.

That is not normal in pro sports, not just the NBA. In all my conversations with Stan and Josh, they've won Super Bowls, they've won Stanley Cups. They've been around some great teams, great players. But I also know that they're basketball people. Josh was a hell of a player in his own right, and Stan will tell you he grew up a basketball fan.

This is the one thing that is missing from their trophy case, and that's what motivates every one of us when we come into work every day is to bring home that first championship for this city, for our fans, for the Kroenkes, for our players, and we know we have a hell of a fight in front of us.

Q. Why is Jimmy such a big challenge to stop? What makes him so tough?

MICHAEL MALONE: You know, you could get into the basketball, the skill level. For me, when I look at Jimmy Butler, what separates him from most players is the drive, the competitive spirit within him, a relentless attack.

It was really cool seeing the press conference they showed from last year when they lost and how everything he talked about in that moment kind of came to fruition a year later, and he has this team back in the Finals.

I think what makes Jimmy hard to guard is we know he's talented, he's big, he's strong, he can get to his spots on the court, but he has the gift of drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. But he's a big-moment player. He's not scared. He's tough. He's relentless, and he's a warrior.

I think that's why from the first -- from the Play-In games to that first-round series against a really good Milwaukee team with great defensive players, like Jrue Holiday said, it didn't matter who was guarding him, Jimmy was going to get where he wanted to go.

It's not just on Aaron Gordon; it's on all five guys on the floor to try to slow him up and to give him different looks. We'll be ready.

Q. You mentioned altitude. The Heat will only have two days to acclimate. You guys have been here for nine days. This will be the first time Denver altitude has been in the NBA Finals. What do you hope is your best-case scenario that you want the Heat to feel right from the start in Game 1 altitude-wise?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, I mean, you see it all throughout the season when teams come in here. The altitude is real. I think they got in late last night, so they're going to try to acclimate as quickly as possible.

When we're playing our game, regardless of who we're playing, when we're playing our game at its best, it starts with our defense and our rebounding, and then our running. When we can establish that pace of play, and once again, we're averaging close to 17 fast break points a game in these Playoffs, that makes it really hard for visiting teams to kind of sustain and stay with that initially. Most teams will wind up getting their second wind and be able to work themselves into that.

But yeah, the altitude is here, man. Might as well use it to our advantage.

When I hear from guys like Dan Issel, who will text me, and he said it in the Lakers series, man, just keep running these Lakers off the floor, and that's something that Coach [Doug] Moe did years and years ago and I think we have to continue to use to our advantage whenever possible.

Q. In your eyes, what does it mean to be a Denver Nugget?

MICHAEL MALONE: I think it's somebody that embodies our culture, and the beginning of that is work. Self-motivated players.

I often talk about how talent is a given in this business. You don't get into the NBA without talent, but how do you stay in the NBA, and how do you stay a part of a really good team?

So, identifying players that are workers, self-motivated, that come back to the gym on their own every night without having a coach have to go pick them up and say we're going to work on this. That's a huge part of it.

Me and Calvin [Booth] were just talking about in recently as we've had a few draft workouts, identifying players that are talented but that are workers, because if you're willing to work and sacrifice, you're going to get better.

Being selfless is a huge part of what a Denver Nugget player is. That's something that from day one when I got here, I tried to instill, and as the eight years have kind of come together, it just kind of also coincided with Nikola Jokic, a back-to-back MVP, being one of the more selfless players I've ever been around. It's never about him; it's about the group. We, not me. Check your ego at the door and get over yourself. I think we've had countless examples of that.

The last part is somebody that trusts, trusts in their teammates, trusts in the coaches, and for themselves, prove themselves to be trustworthy, which takes time. Those are the kind of people we want around here, and if you're not willing to be a worker and if you're not willing to get over yourself and put the team first and you're not willing to trust, your stay in Denver will be short, and we'll find guys that will fill that role like we have with 17 guys in that locker room.

Q. I read a quote from you from a while back in which you said one of the early X's and O's things you learned from your dad was a screener, if he's doing it right, is often more free than the guy he's screening for --

MICHAEL MALONE: Thanks for listening and paying attention.

Q. Jamal, when you look at his film in this Playoffs, it seems like so many of his actions start by setting a screen and then eventually getting the ball. What makes him such an effective screener and what does that do for your offense?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, I think that's a great question and an interesting one because three, four years ago, the number one pick-and-roll combo in the entire NBA was Nikola and Jamal, and most people would just assume that it was Nikola setting for Jamal. It was actually the opposite. It was Nikola handling and Jamal setting.

The reason it was so effective, aside from the obvious, two really talented players, is that Jamal is big, strong, physical, and not afraid of contact. Some guys like to slip out of every screen because they don't want to make that contact, they don't want to give themselves up. Jamal from early in his career here, he's shown that he's willing to go and set a screen on a big guy, small guy, doesn't matter, because he's tough.

But to your point, the second part of that is he also knows that if Nikola has the ball and he screens, his man has to help, which will give him separation. If you want to simplify the game of basketball, it comes down to separation. The great individual players, the great offensive teams find ways to create it, and the great one-on-one defenders and the great teams find a way to negate it.

Jamal realizes when he sets great screens, whether it's on Nikola or anybody else, that's going to allow him to maybe create some separation and pop for a jump shot or a drive, and Nikola, Aaron and Jamal have really good synergy within that three-man game.

Q. You said that this was going to be the biggest and toughest series of these guys' lives. How do you balance the excitement and enthusiasm they have, the city has, Nuggets Nation has, with also trying to just treat it as another set of games or another series when it isn't?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, I think it definitely is a delicate balance in that regard. But for me, it's just getting back to work, and we've had a great week of practice leading into today. It was nice to finally know who we were playing so we could speak about a lot more detail and specifics with the Miami Heat and their personnel and their coverages and their plays.

But for our guys having been off as long as we have been, I think we're just excited to play again, and it happens to be in the NBA Finals, which is pretty cool. But the message all along has been, yes, enjoy it, enjoy this city. Last time we had this we were in the bubble. We didn't get a chance to experience any of this. We were all the way down in Orlando.

But also, don't get bored with success and don't listen to everybody telling you how great you are because we haven't accomplished anything yet, and we're playing against a team that has been playing every other day, and they're on a mission, we're on a mission, and that's why it's going to be a hell of a series.

Q. You mentioned in a previous presser that if the Nuggets win the title, it would be for all Nuggets. Just thinking about your journey on the way here and all the guys who are not with the team anymore like Tim Connelly or former coaches like Jordi Fernandez or all the players like Monte [Morris] and Will [Barton] and everyone else, do you feel if you guys win the title, this will be for them, as well?

MICHAEL MALONE: Everybody that's been here in my eight years has been a part of this. You mentioned a guy like Tim Connelly; I wouldn't be the head coach in Denver if it wasn't for Tim Connelly. He was here for seven of my eight years, and his fingerprints are all over this team. So yes, Tim Connelly is a part of it.

You mentioned guys that have been on my staff. Everybody that's ever come in these doors and helped me, helped our players, helped this organization, they're a part of it. Every player from year one when I came in like Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Harris and Kenneth Faried and Jusuf Nurkic and Wilson Chandler, Randy Foye, Danilo Gallinari. I could sit here and -- it's been a long list in eight years, man. But they're all a part of it. They helped us get here. You had to lay a foundation. You had to go through growing pains.

The players in that locker room right now are reaping a lot of the hard work and sacrifice that those other players and coaches gave to this team and organization.

So yes, this is for everybody that's come through here, and I love the fact that after one of the press conferences Jamal Murray unsolicited talked about Gary Harris, talked about Monte Morris, talked about the guys who were so instrumental in his early years here, and I think that's a great mindset; let's not forget where we came from and give thanks to those that helped us get to this point.

Q. Your starting five is unparalleled in many ways, but what is the role of the bench in a series like the Finals, and how do you focus on getting your reserves ready?

MICHAEL MALONE: Yeah, I mean, it's going to take a full team effort. It's not just on a starting five. We wouldn't be here in the NBA Finals if it wasn't for contributions from everybody, whether that's leading into practice, whether that's a guy like Thomas Bryant going out there and being the best version of Bam Adebayo as a scout team player, and I mean that sincerely. Everybody has got a job to do and do it to the best of your abilities.

But also look at the contributions of guys like Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, Christian Braun. Those have kind of been the three guys off our bench that we've played in our eight-man rotation, and each one of those players has had a huge impact in us being 12-3 at this point as we approach Thursday night and Game 1.

The other thing I'll say is in any given series, there's always curve balls. You never know who's going to play. Somebody who has not played a ton of minutes leading up to this point could be a guy that maybe helps us win a game, win a quarter, win a possession, and when you get to the NBA Finals, every possession matters.

We don't have just eight players on our team. We have 17 guys in that locker room that I love and care about and that are a part of us getting to this point of the season.