"The narrative wasn’t about the Nuggets" - Michael Malone blasts NBA media for not giving credit to Nikola Jokic and crew
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone was fired up following their 108-103 Game 2 win over the LA Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Malone felt that his team, particularly superstar center Nikola Jokic, were disrespected following their 132-126 Game 1 victory.
The Nuggets coach said that the narrative after Game 1 was all about LA’s defensive adjustments and how they almost won, rather than Denver’s impressive performance. He then called for the national media to show more respect to Jokic for the historic playoff run he is having.
“A lot of our guys, to be honest, they may not admit this, you win Game 1 of the playoffs and all everybody talked about was the Lakers,” Malone said.
“Let’s be honest. The national narrative was, ‘Hey, the Lakers are fine. They’re down 1-0 but they figured something out.’
“No one talked about how Nikola just had a historic performance. He’s got 13 (playoff) triple-doubles now, third all-time. What he’s doing is just incredible, but the narrative wasn’t about the Nuggets.
“The narrative wasn’t about Nikola. The narrative was about the Lakers and their adjustments.”
Malone added that the Nuggets used the disrespect as motivation to go up 2-0 in the series.
“So, you know, you put that in your pipe, you smoke it and you come back. You know what? We’re gonna go up 2-0,” he said.
Mike Malone goes off on the narratives surrounding the Lakers and Nikola Jokic
“The national narrative [after Game 1] was that the Lakers were fine. No one talked about Nikola having a historic performance. The narrative wasn’t about the Nuggets.”
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Jokic finished with another triple-double, recording 23 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists and three steals on 42.9% shooting, in Game 2. That marked the two-time MVP's seventh triple-double of the 2023 playoffs.
As a result, Jokic is now third all-time in playoff triple-doubles at 13. The Nuggets' superstar trails only LeBron James (28) and Lakers legend Magic Johnson (30).
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Nikola Jokic reacts to Michael Malone’s postgame comments
Following the Denver Nuggets' Game 2 win over the LA Lakers, Nikola Jokic was asked about Michael Malone’s postgame comments. Jokic said that it is not a surprise as it has been like that for his whole career since Denver started making the playoffs.
“Since we make playoffs, it’s like that. So, it’s nothing new for us,” he said.
Jokic added that he likes being able to operate under the radar.
“To be honest, I like it,” he said.
“We don’t care, whatever, you know? Even, if you remember, even in the bubble when we beat [the] Utah [Jazz], they were talking about how they blew the lead. When we beat the [LA] Clippers, how they blew the lead. Nobody talked about how we won the games. It’s normal for us.”
Following their Game 2 win, the Nuggets lead the Lakers 2-0 in their Western Conference finals series. Game 3 will take place on Saturday in LA.
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