Mike Malone, the head coach of the Denver Nuggets, spoke after his team’s loss to the Sacramento Kings at home.
The Kings, led by the brilliant De’Aaron Fox, who scored 30 points, defeated the reigning champions of the NBA league on their home court, 102-98.
“Now we have a burden on our backs. For 82 games, we will bring out the best from teams in Sacramento or from teams that may be lower in the standings. There are no easy nights for us,” said Mike Malone.
Denver was without starting guards Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Murray is the team’s second-leading scorer with 20.5 points per game and the team’s best three-point shooter, hitting 41.1% from beyond the arc this season.
“We’re not healthy. We have the best starting five in the league. We haven’t had those five guys together in the last three games. I think it’s more than that,” says the Denver Nuggets head coach.
The Denver Nuggets now head into the NBA All-Star break, after which they have a somewhat easier schedule, with their first game against the Washington Wizards.