MINNEAPOLIS \u2013 All the noise drenched with foul negativity that coaches preach to ignore, David Adelman absorbs and wrings into a stinking bucket he feels obligated to carry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that people want me to crush our guys after losses,\u201d Adelman said Wednesday. \u201cBut I\u2019m not going to do that, when I know the temperament of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
So as his players hoisted shots on the Target Center court where a win-or-go home playoff game for the Nuggets will be contested Thursday night, I asked Adelman:<\/p>\n
Despite outside pressure to rip his players for basketball sins committed in this playoff series, why did he decide it was unmerited?<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I talk to my guys individually and as a team in the locker room. You guys aren\u2019t on our team. They hear my message every day. I have extreme confidence in this team. There\u2019s a reason why these guys won 54 (regular-season) games with all these different lineups. They trust each other,\u201d Adelman replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it sucks to play poorly in the playoffs. But that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re noncompetitive. They\u2019re competitive. Obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the noise is stupid and uniformed, why would any coach feel the need to acknowledge it?<\/p>\n
You guys wouldn\u2019t understand \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
When a coach goes there, his ears are antennas for criticism.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing.<\/p>\n
The outside noise can fuel a coach and his players, so long as taking a match to the perceived disrespect doesn\u2019t consume them.<\/p>\n
During the twists and turns of a long NBA playoff series, adversity is inevitable, redemption is only one big shot away, heroes can spring from the shadows and strength of will can be nearly as important as depth of talent.<\/p>\n
This series, between two rivals with a history of annoying each other, has become an even bigger gut check than most postseason battles, because of the gut punches endured by both the Nuggets and Timberwolves from injuries to Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson, Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo.<\/p>\n
But what\u2019s nearly as compelling to watch is the education of Adelman.<\/p>\n
A year ago, when given the lead seat on the Denver bench after the shocking dismissal of Michael Malone only days before the playoffs began, Adelman was a sympathetic figure, doing the best he could under difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n
Now, after his first full season as a head coach, Adelman\u2019s seat is considerably warmer. It feels as if the Nuggets\u2019 championship window might already have begun to close, and if another year of Nikola Jokic\u2019s prime is wasted, Adelman will certainly feel the heat.<\/p>\n
He bristled after the Nuggets fell apart in Game 4 in a lopsided loss to a crippled Minnesota team that took a commanding 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care what you write. I really don\u2019t,\u201d Adelman said in the aftermath of Denver\u2019s last frustrating visit to Minneapolis. \u201cI know what the team feels. I know what they felt before the game. The narrative doesn\u2019t matter to me. I know the feeling of the group. And I know there\u2019s something in us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Standing up for his players is what a good coach does when the scoreboard has them down.<\/p>\n
But tone also counts. By underlining with anger that he didn\u2019t care only made it sound as Adelman cared a wee bit too much what knuckleheads like you or me think.<\/p>\n
He was testy again after the Nuggets kept their season alive in Game 5. Rather than happily (or even smugly) taking the \u201cW\u201d on the way out of Ball Arena and enjoying the renewed hope his players worked hard to earn, Adelman seemed peeved anyone had doubted an offensive-oriented team that had misplaced its shooting touch for long stretches.<\/p>\n
\u201cOffense doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d insisted Adelman, his irritation obvious as the coach interrupted the first question of his press conference following a rousing 125-113 victory by the Nuggets.<\/p>\n
While I disagreed with Stan and Josh Kroenke\u2019s choice to entrust what remains of Jokic\u2019s MVP prime to an inexperienced head coach, I also believe Adelman deserves the chance to grow into the job.<\/p>\n
Fighting outside noise with all-caps feistiness seems very much like the trap we all can fall into these days.<\/p>\n
But Adelman is also the son of a coach. And not just any coach. Rick Adelman played seven seasons in the NBA, then won more than 1,000 games from the bench, twice guiding Portland to the finals.<\/p>\n
Those are big sneakers to fill.<\/p>\n
And sometimes David Adelman looks like a dutiful son straining to prove that his father\u2019s coaching jacket isn\u2019t too big for him.<\/p>\n
While the Nuggets coach might regard my take as criticism, I find it a very human aspect of him learning to find his own voice and deal with the pressures of an unforgiving job subject to constant second-guessing.<\/p>\n
With the Timberwolves down their leading scorer and his starting backcourt mate, the momentum of the series has swung so hard that the Nuggets are decisive favorites to survive and advance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All Adelman has to do now: Stay calm. And don\u2019t blow it.<\/p>\n
But should the Nuggets fail?<\/p>\n
Oh, my.<\/p>\n
If Denver gets bounced from the playoffs, this would be my friendly advice to Adelman: Mute the podcasts, don\u2019t Google anything related to the Nuggets and turn off your mentions.<\/p>\n
The noise could be loud enough to make the coach\u2019s ears bleed.<\/p>\n
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