Mike Malone on his Nuggets: “We Can Be a Special Team”

Denver Nuggets clinched the top spot of the Northwestern division after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers last night, 119-110.

Mike Malone’s boys beat the big rival who practically eliminated them from the playoff battle during the previous season and who was always a big problem for his team.

Since the season 2009-2010, this team waited to be the division champion. And finally, they did it.

For Malone, this is one of the greatest successes in his career. After all the problems, battles, and failures which this team overcame, the candidate for the Coach of the Year Award expressed his satisfaction with the accomplished so far.

“This is four years in the making. Two years in a row coming up just shy, one game short,” Nuggets head coach stated.

But the 47-year old also said that this isn’t the end of the road for his team. The Nuggets want more.

“We’re not satisfied just making the playoffs. We realized early on in the season that we have a chance to be a special team, and that remains the case.”

After six years of waiting, Denver is finally in the promise land.

The game against Portland was a tough and an exhausting one for the Nuggets, who have one of the toughest schedules to close the season with.

Guests from Oregon also have their math, which included a win over the Nuggets, to stay close to the Rockets in the place No.3 of the West.

They started the game well, but the home team replied, and went on a break with a four-point lead, 56-52. Blazers came back at the end of the third and made this exciting for some time, but the Nuggets prevailed with a 9-0 series which pushed them away to a safe distance.

Nikola Jokic was pretty upset after the game against the Warriors, when the champs blew away his team. After the contest, DeMarcus Cousins publicly called out Jokic, diminishing his value, and his All-Star appearance.

That motivated the Serbian, and he performed excellently against the Spurs and during the previous night. He was one assist short of reaching his 13th triple-double of the season, 22 points, 13 boards and 9 dimes.

“It was time for our best player to carry us,” Malone said. “Nikola is a big-game player and when we needed him most he came through.”

What was noticeable was his presence in the crucial moments, and he scored 10 points in the last quarter when the game was on the line.

As mentioned, Nuggets had a difficult schedule over the recent weeks. Pacers, Celtics, Thunder, Rockets, Warriors, Trail Blazers, two times, Jazz, are just some of the teams who were and will be their opponents.

And though, some might say that this is a problem, Malone has a totally different view on that situation.

“It’s been a hell of a schedule, and that’s forcing us to play some of our best basketball.”

Now, he probably thinks that it is great for his team to have a chance to come into the playoff rhythm already during the season, and avoid all the adjustments to the rival’s strength and the intensity of play, which can cause some trouble.

Especially if you are appearing in the playoffs for the first time, like the majority of Denver’s players.

Nuggets have three more games to play until the end of the regular part of the season. With one win they will secure the second spot in the West. At the moment, Houston is behind them one and a half game, with two more matches to play.

Denver now heads to Portland for the second of a back-to-back against the Blazers, then travel to Oklahoma to face the Thunder, and finally close the season at home against the Timberwolves.

Three teams are in combination to be their matchup in the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers, OKC and the Spurs. But that isn’t too important for these guys.

They are fired up and ready to play no matter the name of the rival.