NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 7, 2023

Michael Malone

Denver Nuggets

Game 3: Pregame

Q. Mike, you had a few miscues in your previous game when for example with Strus setting the ball screen and popping early -- when you do lose contact when he's coming to set the screen, what's key in terms of salvaging the situation?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, it was more than a few. We had a lot more than a few breakdowns in Game 2 and give them credit because they took advantage of almost every miscue that we had or breakdown that we had.

A huge part of it for us is just cleaning up our communication. That was the main message in our film session, in our practice, in our shootaround this morning was getting our communication going early. But when you have a guy like Max Strus or Duncan Robinson, who are elite shooters, it's all about getting separation.

They're doing a really good job of creating separation, and we're doing a poor job of allowing it. So, communicate early, be more physical, take away their airspace, and try to make them play inside the three-point line.

Q. I saw you have your arm around Jamal yesterday at the practice. Were you encouraging him in any capacity, and as much as you can say, what was that conversation about?

MICHAEL MALONE: Oh, it's between Jamal and I. He understands how important he is to this team. He understands how much I care about him, not just as a player but as a person.

My job is not just to point out mistakes. My job is not just to applaud guys when they're playing well. It's also just to be there for them and provide whatever support I can.

I do that for everybody, not just Jamal Murray. But yeah, that conversation will just kind of remain private if you don't mind.

Q. What did you think Kevin Love's impact was on Game 2 and his presence on the floor? Is that something you actually have to adjust to?

MICHAEL MALONE: Well, I mean, so they start Kevin Love, I think six points, 10 rebounds, three offensive, two made threes, and a guy that's been on this stage before, so you know he's not going to be rattled.

But let's be honest, the guy that he replaced could have been the Eastern Conference [Finals] MVP. So, it's not like Caleb Martin is not a good player, but I think for them, it was making sure they just had a little bit more size in the game, help with the rebounding.

But give K-Love credit, man. That guy is a journeyman. He's really impacted this team with his professionalism, maturity, and the three-point shooting, the rebounding, the outlet passing, whatever you want to call it. He did a really good job to help them in that second game.

Q. Michael, you talked about guys owning the mistakes and things like that, but what have you seen from your team in the last 48 hours? Jamal talked about how resilient this team is and even getting away to Jeff Green's house and changing the vibes and being all about family. What have you seen from the guys in the last 48 hours?

MICHAEL MALONE: I would echo what Jamal mentioned. It was really neat with Jeff having a house -- he was nice enough to have us go over there and break bread with his family. The whole team went. It allowed everybody to reset, take a deep breath, take the edge off.

And yesterday's film session was -- wasn't an emotional film session. That's not going to get us anywhere. It was a constructive film session where everybody had a chance to speak up and talk about each clip and what they see and how we can be better.

I also agree that we are a very resilient group. We've proven that year in and year out, whether that's being down 3-1, whether it's having guys out to injury. This group never ceases to amaze me.

I believe that maybe us losing a game at home for the first time in the postseason and playing the way we did, you never want to go through that, but you have to take a negative and make it into a positive, and maybe that's a wake-up call. Maybe it's like hey, man, understand the moment that we're in, and don't ease into it and be disciplined in your approach, be urgent in your approach.

I have no doubt that our guys will go out there and play a much better game than we did in Game 2 in Denver.

Q. You talk about the urgency and understanding the moment. With Jamal, who wants this so bad, what have you seen from him over the last two, three days since Game 2?

MICHAEL MALONE: Yeah, I think all of us were disappointed, from myself to all of our players. We were disappointed in Game 2, how we performed.

The funny thing is even after the third quarter, I think they had 75 points and 43 [percent] from the field and we’re up eight. I don't think we had played well to that point. Then the start of the fourth quarter, obviously that 15-2 run was a deadly run and kind of gave them some separation, then we got back in the game late.

But the last couple days I think there's been some frustration, and then the second part of that is coming together and realizing that all we have is each other, and we're going to need each other to play a lot better, a lot harder and a lot more disciplined if we're going to regain home-court advantage.