“If we’re doing our job and we’re healthy going into the postseason, I like our chances. That’s what motivates all of us,” Malone said. We’re just focused on bringing a championship to Denver. But, the great thing about it is, we’re not worried about all of that. If that doesn’t bring you respect, I don’t know what will. 1 team in the West by five games with 23 games to go. “We have a two-time MVP – about to be a three-time MVP – and we’re the No. The hope is that recipe produces the best season in franchise history. The fusion of tradition and innovation has the Nuggets making plans for a fifth-straight playoff appearance since the loss to the Timberwolves in the final game of the 2017-18 season left Denver on the outside of the playoff picture. “I think it’s been really cool to do something different that people haven’t seen before, at least at that position, the center position. “That’s a very unique player, and to coach’s credit, we stepped out of our comfort level, because in the NBA it’s much easier to copy other people and stay within what everybody else is doing,” Adelman said. But there’s also an element of Denver’s offense, which boasts a league-best 117.6 offensive rating, that other teams lack the personnel to replicate. Malone said there’s some of that in the Nuggets’ playbook. If one team runs a play that regularly works, it’s likely to be stolen by other teams. The NBA is something of a copycat league. You just got to make sure you’re constantly challenging yourself.” You don’t want to be the team reacting to it or fighting that. The Nuggets adapted to make the most of their new face of the franchise to the point where the back-to-back Most Valuable Player has become the ball handler in pick-and-roll sets and the shooter in catch-and-shoot situations. He grew into a traditional center’s body but maintained a more expansive skillset. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone emerged from behind a black curtain long after Nikola Jokic had begun indulging questions from a throng of eager media members. When asked about it, Jokic told his only NBA coach to date that he was a “fat point guard” when he started playing. The Nuggets coach noticed Nikola Jokic’s ball handling was as skilled as some of his guards. It can be hard to successfully innovate without comfort, and that’s what Malone did when a Serbian center showed up in Denver with some surprising skills. That does help you feel a little more comfortable the first time you step in.” “Not to say we didn’t have to learn it, but you get a little bit of a head start, because you’ve seen it at the most intense level, at the highest level. “I think a lot of people have to learn that when they get into the league,” Adelman said. Adelman’s dad, Rick, coached the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Kings, Rockets and Timberwolves in his career. Malone’s father, Brendan, coached at various levels in college and the NBA, helping the Detroit Pistons to a pair of championships as an assistant in 19.
That old-school approach was hard to escape for Malone and Adelman, as they spent their childhoods hanging around locker rooms.
That work ethic, typical of many great coaches, helped the Nuggets’ to the best record in the Western Conference (41-18) at the break, which led to Malone coaching Team LeBron alongside Adelman and the rest of the Nuggets assistants.
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