Malone: ‘Warming up without shoes not why we lost Game 4”

Denver Nuggets manager Michael Malone has been telling his players they need to begin playing better from the 1^st minute on the court. That just because his team had been able to come back from double-digit trails in each of the 1^st 3 matches of the 1^st-round postseason matchup vs. the LA Lakers, it didn’t mean they could always triumph like that in the 2^nd half.

That’s exactly what happened in Game 4 when Los Angeles took the lead early again and kept it until the end to defeat Denver 119-108 and to avoid sweep. Nuggets basketballers had to practice before the game in slippers because of problems with the arrival of their shoes.

“Is it ideal? No,” Denver’s head coach admitted. “But I hope, we can figure that out and avoid it of happening ever again.”

Malone added that’s why not Denver lost in LA, and there were other reasons for the defeat and he won’t make excuses.

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Michael Malone wasn't happy with his team's interior defense tonight:

“The paint was a joke. Every huddle, I sounded like a broken record tonight. Every huddle was, ‘Paint, paint, paint.’ Game 3, they had 70 (points in the paint) and we found a way to win. Tonight, they had 72.…

— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) April 28, 2024