Nuggets HC wants his assistants to "step it up" after Jeff Van Gundy jostles with Nikola Jokic for the ball
On Saturday, David Adelman got his first taste of playoff action as interim head coach of the Denver Nuggets. As it turned out, Adelman wouldn't have an easy first day on the job in the postseason.
During Game 1 of the first-round series between the Nuggets and the LA Clippers, Adelman watched as his star center Nikola Jokic got into a tussle over the ball with Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy.
The tussle took place after Jamal Murray poked the ball away from Kawhi Leonard, who apparently got the last touch. The altercation between Jokic and Van Gundy caused a bit of delay before the referees could review the play, but eventually, they ruled that Denver would gain possession.
After the Nuggets' thrilling 112-110 victory in overtime, Adelman addressed the situation between Jokic and Van Gundy. Both sarcasm and indignation were evident in his tone:
"As far as the coaching thing, my guys have gotta step it up," Adelman told reporters in the postgame interview. "If we’re allowed to just grab the ball and stop plays from happening and it’s not a delay of game, what have we been doing all year?"
Admitting that he'd "never seen that before," Adelman angrily suggested that Van Gundy's behavior should be replicated:
"If that is okay to do, then we should start doing it," he said.
Adelman then acknowledged that the tussle ultimately had no impact on the outcome of the game. In all likelihood, both Adelman and Van Gundy will ask the players on their respective teams to focus on the next game, instead of dwelling on the Nuggets' Game 1 win.
Nuggets HC opens up on playing Michael Porter Jr. in Round 1 series vs. Clippers
In his postgame interview, Adelman also talked about the playing time of Michael Porter Jr, who logged just 26 minutes in Game 1:
"If Mike comes out and he plays, and he's engaged defensively, and he's knocking down shots, he'll be out there," Adelman said.
Porter ended up with just three points on 1-for-4 shooting. At the very least, his interim head coach has publicly stated the conditions that he'll have to fulfill to play upwards of 40 minutes like the other Denver starters.