The first quarter has just ended and Mike Malone, embarrassed, can scratch his head. His players return to the Nuggets bench after conceding 49 points in 12 minutes on the Raptors floor, already 19 points behind (49-30).
The percentage of success displayed by the Canadians to start is enough to send shivers down the backs of Denver defenders: 20/28 on shots, or 71%! ” But who are we to think that we can play three quarters and win a game? », gets annoyed after Mike Malone gamewhose team had never taken so much in a quarter this season.
Before facing the Spurs a few days ago, with 42 points taken in the second quarter, his team had also chained 48 games in a row without conceding 40 points in a quarter. ” How can we go from, dropping 49 points in the first quarter, to dropping 23, 26 and 27 (note: the following three) ? Seriously ! Maybe in Detroit my pre-game talk will be, ‘We start playing down 49-20.’ maybe it will speak to our guys “, quips the coach.
In Toronto, the players of the latter will be able to shoot with 55% of address over the whole game, they lacked the juice to win, because of the efforts made to pick up. ” We dug a hole too big and we couldn’t climb the slope », Regrets Jamal Murray. ” When you spend so much energy to get back into the game, you have nothing left to finish “, completes his coach, whose team has never led in this part. Unheard of this season when Nikola Jokic is on the floor.
This ongoing four-game losing streak is also unprecedented in the Nuggets season. Beyond the timing of this bad dynamic, what is questionable is that three of the four teams (Bulls, Spurs and Raptors) against which they lost present a negative balance sheet.
Too long in mind?
” Everyone plays for something. San Antonio for pride, Brooklyn trying to hang on to fifth place or maybe go up, Toronto fighting like hell to be in the playoffs “, enumerates Malone, before letting go: “ We may have become a little soft from winning. We tell ourselves that it’s going to be fine… It’s a great opportunity for us. I love the fact that we face adversity. I’m here, I’m not going anywhere and I’m going to find guys who want to fight with me. »
A warrior language used voluntarily to shake his troop considered too relaxed at the moment. ” We cannot relax 13 games from the end of the season. We gotta try to find a way to get our confidence back “claims Malone, recalling that his team has occupied first place in the West since mid-December.
If this place is not threatened for the moment, with still four games ahead of the Grizzlies, who nevertheless remain on three wins in a row, Nikola Jokic assures that ” Yes “, his teammates and him had to hear this speech on what it is for them today.
His teammate Michael Porter Jr. agrees that “ it’s not the ideal time with so many games to play. But I think you have to face adversity in the playoffs. If we manage to solve our problems and find the solutions we need now, it will be useful for us for the playoffs. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Nikola Jokic | 60 | 33.8 | 62.8 | 40.8 | 81.3 | 2.4 | 9.6 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 24.7 |
| Jamal Murray | 54 | 32.7 | 45.0 | 38.7 | 82.5 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 5.9 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 20.1 |
| Michael Porter, Jr. | 51 | 28.9 | 49.1 | 41.2 | 80.8 | 1.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 17.1 |
| Aaron Gordon | 56 | 30.0 | 58.0 | 37.2 | 62.8 | 2.4 | 4.3 | 6.8 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 16.8 |
| Bones Hyland | 42 | 19.5 | 39.9 | 37.8 | 86.6 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 12.1 |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 65 | 31.7 | 47.5 | 43.8 | 84.0 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 11.2 |
| Bruce Brown, Jr. | 67 | 28.3 | 47.9 | 37.1 | 74.0 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 11.1 |
| Jeff Green | 44 | 19.3 | 49.8 | 26.7 | 72.1 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 7.8 |
| Reggie Jackson | 9 | 20.1 | 29.4 | 29.7 | 75.0 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 6.3 |
| Vlatko Cancar | 49 | 16.3 | 49.0 | 40.0 | 93.8 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 5.6 |
| Zeke Nnaji | 44 | 13.3 | 57.2 | 28.9 | 66.7 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 5.1 |
| Thomas Bryant | 11 | 12.1 | 50.0 | 66.7 | 70.6 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 4.9 |
| Deandre Jordan | 35 | 14.3 | 77.3 | 100.0 | 43.9 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 4.8 |
| Christian Brown | 62 | 14.4 | 50.5 | 40.9 | 60.9 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 4.2 |
| Ish Smith | 34 | 9.4 | 43.6 | 33.3 | 50.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 2.7 |
| davon reed | 35 | 9.0 | 31.3 | 36.4 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.3 |
| peyton watson | 14 | 3.2 | 52.6 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Jack White | 16 | 3.2 | 43.8 | 37.5 | 66.7 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.2 |
