Coach Malone is not letting his guard down.
The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat will meet in Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals on Friday night at the PepsiCo Center in Denver.
No. 1 seed Denver in the West and No. 8 seed Miami in the East meet in the Finals. Reflecting the regular season standings of both teams, the Finals predictions were lopsided. The majority of experts favored Denver.
Game 1 went the way of the experts. Cheered on by their home fans, the Nuggets never relinquished the lead and pounded Miami. After the lopsided score, Miami rallied, but couldn’t change the tide.
A seemingly expected Game 1 sweep. But Denver head coach Mike Malone wasn’t caught off guard, and he had a strong message for his players after Game 1 to guard against complacency.
“I told them not to read the news, not to listen to the Salmans on the radio and TV saying this series is over, because we haven’t accomplished anything yet. We’ve only won one game,” he said.
He had good reason. Malone pointed to Miami’s wide-open opportunities in Game 1 and said the team has a lot to work on. He also expressed frustration with the pick-and-roll defense.
“I don’t think we did a great job in Game 1,” Malone said. I rewatched the game and Miami only made 5 of 16 wide-open shots. The fact that they got 16 three-pointers is problematic. If you think Max Struth is going to miss all nine 3-pointers again or Duncan Robinson is going to continue to shoot poorly, you’re wrong.”먹튀검증
“I told the guys to keep the excitement in check. We won Game 1, but there are so many things we can do better. If we play at a better level, we have a chance to win Game 2. Our pick-and-roll defense was terrible in Game 1, and we gave up 11 offensive rebounds. So there’s a lot of things we need to fix. I’m not worried about what they’re going to do, I’m worried about what we need to get better at to get Game 2.”
Denver began these playoffs by taking the first two games of the series, both at home. Will the Nuggets win Game 2 of the Finals? If Malone’s preparation is up to par, Denver fans can expect a win in Game 2.
