Michael Malone, coach of the Denver Nuggets, wants his team to keep their feet firmly planted on the ground despite the clear victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.
“I told the players not to read the papers and not listen to people on the radio and TV saying this series is over, because we really haven’t done a damn thing.”
“I don’t think we played well in game 1, I reviewed the game and they only hit 5 of 16 open threes built. As I told our players this morning, the fact that they conceded 16 comfortable triples is a problem. And if you think Max Strus will hit 0 out of 9 again or Duncan Robinson will hit 1 out of 5 again, think again.”
On any adjustments of the Heat in view of race 2.
“Knowing Spoelstra as well as I do, he will not focus on adjustments, but on the energy and commitment of his players. When I arrived in this league I quickly learned that before making an adjustment you have to ask yourself two questions: Are we executing the game-plan correctly? And are we doing it with the necessary energy?
“For tomorrow night I expect the Miami Heat to show up with much more energy, strength and aggression than Game 1”.
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— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) June 3, 2023