The Nuggets have 10 days to get in shape, based on Michael Malone’s assessment.
That’s the remaining time between their third preseason game — a 118-114 loss to Phoenix’s bench on Sunday — and their opening night of the 2024-25 regular season.
Malone questioned his team’s conditioning after the Nuggets fell to 0-3 in the preseason, unable to pull out a win at Ball Arena even with their starters playing until the end of the third quarter.
“I don’t think we’re in great condition right now, and that’s one thing we talked about as coaches during the game,” Malone said. “Looked like some guys are just winded and a little tired out there. So that’s something that we can try to improve upon.”
Phoenix Suns center Mason Plumlee, left, drives to the rim past Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the second half of an NBA preseason game Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Malone was frustrated by the Nuggets’ failure to guard Phoenix’s role players one-on-one, which he said resulted in constant help-defense rotations while the Suns rained 3-pointers. Phoenix finished the night 23 for 50 beyond the arc, while Denver made just 12 of 36 attempts.
“We dominated the glass, dominated the paint, but got our (butt) kicked from 3,” Malone said. “To give up 37 points in that third quarter was embarrassing. So we have a lot of work to do. That’s what preseason’s for. (On Monday) we’ll watch a lot of film.”
With only two preseason games remaining a week before Oklahoma City visits on opening night, the question will be how the Nuggets can remedy any conditioning problems in such a short span: By continuing to push the starters deeper into the second half of their remaining exhibitions, or by running more behind the scenes?
“Probably both,” Malone said. “I think some, you can do (during games). Like tonight, I ran those guys the whole third quarter. And obviously, Jamal (Murray) didn’t play in the second half. But (I) played that starting unit the whole third quarter and tried to push their envelope a little bit. And that was probably a little bit hard on some of those guys. Then in practice, I think we can get up and down more. I think so often as coaches in modern-day NBA, the league’s gotten so soft (that) everybody’s afraid to condition and run. We have to.”
Malone had initially planned for his starters to play into the second half of Sunday night’s game, which they hadn’t done previously. The Nuggets started their preseason with two games against the Celtics overseas in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where Malone rested multiple starters in the second contest. After that came a week of recovery and practice before the loss to Phoenix, which was resting Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Grayson Allen and Bradley Beal.
A more at-ease Malone after Monday’s practice was reluctant to attribute tired legs to the unusual preseason travel schedule.
“One of our coaches told me this morning that — I don’t know if this is true, maybe it’s an old wives’ tale — but it takes a day for each hour when you come back from a long trip like that,” he said. “So, 10-hour time change, and we’re not even back to that yet. I think it’s only been a week since we’ve been home. So I’m sure there’s some carry-over from that. But my retort, because I’m not one to give into excuses, is I look at the Boston-Toronto score at halftime last night. And I say, well, it’s not affecting Boston. They had (69) points at halftime, and Toronto had (37). So it affects everybody differently. But I’m sure there’s some hangover from that trip.”
Tempo also might have had something to do with Malone’s discontent. The Nuggets have made it a point to get out of their comfort zone this preseason by seeking transition opportunities. That was part of the second unit’s identity last season, but the starting lineup thrived by methodically dissecting defenses in the half-court.
“Obviously if you’re playing at a pace that maybe you’re not accustomed to, it could definitely challenge your system,” Malone acknowledged after the game. “But you know, we’ve talked about trying to be a better running team this year. … It can’t be just Russell Westbrook off the bench. It’s gotta be everybody.”
Malone was more pleased with his team’s offense, which outscored the Suns 58-30 in the paint and featured 21-point games from Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr. and Julian Strawther, plus an impressive stint from Zeke Nnaji. Porter’s physical shape has generally looked like a bright spot on the roster, as the Nuggets have tried to generate more scoring chances for him requiring off-ball movement and on-ball usage.
“I think it’s just trying to push myself. You can’t really get in basketball shape without playing,” Porter said. “But tonight was just good to see how I feel out there so I can continue to work on it. Keep running up and down the floor. I just felt like I was running the floor well. So I’ve just gotta keep staying in that mindset of getting in better shape, after a good game, after a bad game.”
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Originally Published: October 14, 2024 at 10:18 AM MDT