Nikola Jokic gives a first rant | NBA

Deprived of Jamal Murray for most of the coming season, the Nuggets lack benchmarks as the recovery approaches. Concern has reigned in recent weeks, especially in view of the results obtained in the preseason, which began with four defeats and barely saved by a final success against OKC, after extra time.

Suffice to say that the group is still far from the mark. Mike Malone was the first to sound the alarm, when asked what Denver should be working on as a priority last week.

 » It’s a whole « , he replied. “We’re just not a great team right now. There is no organization, too many mistakes, too many failed covers, a lack of communication, too many lost balls, carelessness. We send the ball all over the place ”.

Reunion with Phoenix

Monday, it is the leader of the team in person, Nikola Jokic, who challenged the rest of the group on its current level, simply insufficient while the regular season will begin tomorrow for the Nuggets, on the floor of Phoenix. NBA finalists, the Suns had swept the Nuggets in the conference semifinals.

“Nikola said, ‘Guys, we’re bad. We just run from one side to the other. We don’t do anything at all. We don’t know our systems. We are not playing our defense. We’re going to get our ass kicked on Wednesday ‘”, reported Mike Malone.

The victory against OKC to complete the preseason was still accompanied by more positive elements, whether it is the rise of Nikola Jokic and the holders who will accompany him on this start of the year.

“We still have points where we can always improve, but this is the case for all NBA teams. It’s still early. We will continue to build, to improve ourselves, but I appreciated the state of mind, the work ethic and the involvement that our guys showed ”, put Mike Malone in perspective.