In the NBA Playoffs, a lot of analysts think the Denver Nuggets just lacked the Minnesota Timberwolves’ level of intensity. Some thought it was because there was no bench, meaning the starters played a lot of minutes. Michael Malone, the head coach, directly addressed that criticism.
In the course of the Denver Nuggets’ exit interviews, Michael Malone talked about the possibility that he had worn out his own players.
”Our guys looked dead tired,” Malone said. “They did. Did I run our players into the ground? I’m sure that’s definitely part of it. That’s the decision we made and we’ll live with it.”
Even though Michael Malone has shown excellent responsibility, the Nuggets still fell in the second round of the NBA Playoffs when they shouldn’t have. The minutes of Nikola Jokic were a prime illustration of such.
Jokic played an average of 34.6 minutes per game during the regular season and 40.2 minutes per game during the postseason. Jokic participated in 47 of the 48 minutes that were played in Game 7.
When Naz Reid returned to the game in the fourth quarter, Jokic was unable to maintain his minutes at all. The Nuggets were unable to stop Reid from collecting multiple offensive rebounds while he was flying around the court. The outcome of the game was decided at that point.
The Denver Nuggets can’t play their starters for so long minutes again; they need additional depth in order to make the playoffs the following season. If not, the same outcomes will occur.