Postgame | “Phoenix is truly a serious contender” – Michael Malone after Nuggets lose to Suns

Postgame | “Phoenix is truly a serious contender” – Michael Malone after Nuggets lose to Suns

Has been uh by far our Achilles heel since the All-Star break I think we’re 29th in uh Second Chance points allowed and against that team they don’t miss very often so when they do miss you have to secure the rebound to give yourself a chance on the other end um then

Obviously the three-point shooting as you mentioned you know they make 16 we go 10 to 40 I thought it had a ton of Great Looks That just didn’t go down for us uh but I thought the defense was much better in the second half I think they

Shot 42 in the second half fourth quarter I thought it was outstanding they shot 38% only 21 points in that quarter um but yeah I mean uh to your point you get a rebounded by 13 so they dominate The Glass they have scores by 18 from the three-point line but then little things

Like transition opportunities we were one one for eight in transition opportunities tonight we got to convert we got to score we got to generate free throws we got to do something you can’t leave seven possessions in transition unaccounted for uh we were five of 10 in offensive rebounds you know I mean so

There were points to be had uh that could have helped us while we were struggling to make shots but it’s I know I’m not answering the question but I think both of those Matt the rebounding and uh obviously the inability to guard the three this was sort of second game

In a row against the Suns where they really try to pack the paint against you guys and force you guys to shoot a lot of Threes just are there any major takeaways from that strategy from them is that something that you’ll expect to see later yeah make shots

And we’ve it’s not like it’s something we haven’t seen before I mean they double the coal in the post and then when they double the coal in the post you got to make them pay for putting two on the ball and if you don’t make them pay like we didn’t do tonight

Uh you stop putting them in the post you try to get him in the middle of the floor where it’s much harder to double team him at the nail in the uh middle um but yeah I I think once again you know if we look at the stats tomorrow the

Number of quality threes that we generated that we just didn’t knock down um so um you know I know sometimes it’s an oversimplification but maker missed league and tonight they made and and we missed a whole lot and uh you know you just come up short against a very talented

Team Jamal obviously not necessarily having him to put pressure in the middle of the defense just what you see from the point guards tonight Reggie and and K just filling in for him yeah I thought they were I mean we struggled I mean you know obviously uh you know Reggie was

Five of 14 one of seven from three got some really good looks you know I thought K on the first half was solid and you know second half you know I think um he definitely could have played better but you know this win or loss is not on Reggie Jackson and Colin

Gillespie this is on me and the entirety of the team you know give the Phoenix Suns credit for coming in here and beating us again and taking the head-to-head series two to one um but we had our chances as a collective group and uh we just uh didn’t get the job

Done is that uh pton at the five lineup something that you you wanted to check out like and this felt like good time to go to it or no no it wasn’t something I wanted to go to but with no nurkic we knew their second unit would be really

Small and uh you know I’m just you know with Aaron and his injuries and everything he’s dealing with I just don’t want to for like the last 10 games say we can go to Aaron as a back of five and run Aaron into the ground um so you

Know we went through it this morning Harrison just Hey listen if they’re small we may go really small and uh you know use use at the five obviously you love his versatility the athleticism and I actually thought you know I think it was a 10 to two start for them in that

Second quarter um but it didn’t feel like a 10 to2 run I don’t know if that makes sense I thought they were playing well couldn’t make a shot got some really good looks um gave up a couple of offensive rebounds that you know allowed them to

Score um but you know I thought that group you know gave us some solid minutes and obviously just had a hard time scoring the basketball so we you know second half we went back to Aaron as a backup five but um yeah you got to love Payton’s versatility I think he can

Play three four and five for us what were the things that led to few were cuts and attacks at The Rim is it Jamal missing or uh something the way that suns were defending what was kind of well I I think anytime you’re you know U

Taking the ball out of the net I felt like you know they shot at a high clip um when they did Miss obviously they got the offenseive rebound at at really important times of the game um so we’ve been a very good running team since the allstar B because our defense

Has been great and tonight if you don’t defend and you don’t rebound those opportunities to get out and run and attack and cut uh are not there but when they are there to your point um you know I just felt there were times we getting the ball to Nico and everybody was just

Standing and watching and that’s where you know like now you’re making yourself very easy to guard so I think we have to give ourselves up more cut create the defense to you know collapse on you maybe that creates an open shot for your teammate but um yeah

So we could definitely have done a better job and I think our defense would have helped It time now for our story downtown breakdown take a look at what the Suns did in three again they averaged 12 made threes during the season 12 they had 10 at halftime and finished with 16 now we saw the same recipe on March 5th when beat the Nuggets they made threes the

Nuggets did not that’s how you beat the Nuggets well yeah and their three makes to me was so much about the Nuggets 101 defense cuz their deep 101 Drive buys they got blown by they uh Phoenix got it in the paint nuggets were laate on the

Rotations or drive by and they make them they shoot them and make them yeah I mean I I I agree you know I I think I think there was more happening at the at the top of those plays with um you know some of the screening action and some of

The um you know positions they put some of the Nuggets defenders in but usually what that always just ended up in was somebody kind of getting that drive that H talked about um collapsing a defense and then putting you into really long really long Closeouts I mean I I think

That was one of the things that I noticed in the first half it it continued in the second half was not just that you’re closing out to a three-point shooter but the gravity they they pull you away from the shooter that’s ultimately going to take the shot

And so it’s a long run out there you can’t get the hand up that you need to get up uh and they knock those shots down uh Michael Malone mentioned how the nuggets are 29th in offensive rebounds since the All-Star break tonight they got out rebounded 51 to 38 yeah I mean

Those are the kind of numbers when you just look at those numbers you could sense the game is not going to go For for h darling all all you Lord You by God keep Nisa that Fore He fore

Postgame | “Phoenix is truly a serious contender” – Michael Malone after Nuggets lose to Suns