“We are not even close to being a playoff team” – El Nuevo Diario (Dominican Republic)

EL NUEVO DIARIO, SANTO DOMINGO.- This Monday, the Denver Nuggets suffered their second defeat at home in four days when they fell by a large score of 145-118 against the New York Knicks. After being asked if he wanted to forget that game as soon as possible, Colorado coach Michael Malone firmly rejected that idea. “No, no, no, no. We are not going to throw in the towel. We’re not going to let this go. “You don’t do that when you’re embarrassed,” Malone said. «You don’t let it go when you allowed 145 points. You don’t let it go if you didn’t play hard, if you didn’t play with effort, with energy. “I’m not going to let anything go.” Malone praised Russell Westbrook, scorer of 27 points, for his will, his commitment and his desire to push others, on and off the court, but added that he would like to see more of that type of leadership in some of the players who have been cornerstones of the locker room in recent years. “I need Nikola Jokic, I need Jamal Murray,” Malone added. “I need the players who have been here in the starting five to make themselves heard.”

The Nuggets have been without Aaron Gordon since November 4 due to a muscle injury, but Malone does not see his absence, as well as other physical problems that have affected his squad, as a justification for the inconsistency shown by the team. which has, as of today, a modest record of 9-7.

“Regardless of who is in and who is out, who do we want to be as a team?” asked the coach. “Seeing leadership would be great. Being tough would be great. Being physicists would be great. Playing like we really care would be cool. But we didn’t do any of that tonight. […] We are fooling ourselves. Yeah, [los Knicks] “They are a good team, but if this is the effort we are going to show, we are not even close to being a playoff team.”

Jokic agreed with Malone’s assessment, admitting to the media that the Nuggets needed “a good punch in the face to wake up” and adding that they “need to do a better job.” Murray agreed that it was the responsibility of the players, not the coaches, to figure things out. «It’s a long season. “Guys have lives outside of basketball,” Murray said. «We had just beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles. We have some guys who live in Los Angeles, so we stay there. “I don’t think everyone was focused, and this is what happens when you’re not focused.”

The Nuggets are currently tied with the Phoenix Suns for the seventh-best record in a Western Conference so compressed that just one game separates them from the 11th-ranked Minnesota Timberwolves.