Michael Malone’s believes the Denver Nuggets ‘need more poise’ when things don’t go their way. Is he right?

On Monday night, the defending NBA champions fell to 0-2 in their 2024 NBA Playoffs second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. With that, the defending champions now find themselves in a precarious position and the team’s head coach has pulled no punches when it comes to his thoughts on the situation.

Michael Malone didn’t hold back

Following the team’s second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, the Denver Nuggets head coach, Michael Malone, was frank in his review of what transpired on the court that night. “They kicked our ass. So yeah, it got away from us,” Malone said post-Game. Indeed, the 106-80 scoreline only served to emphasize the point that the defending champions were outplayed and while playing at home to boot.

Now, while it’s true that the Nuggets have had sluggish starts in the playoffs so far, one has to admit that Monday was something different. By halftime, the team was trailing 61-35, which if you’re wondering, is the largest deficit in NBA history by a defending champion playing on their home court. As for the details, we can’t go any further without mentioning the fact that in the first two quarters, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards combined for 36 points. Yes, that’s more than the entire Nuggets roster across the same period.

The Nuggets went from bad to worse

As you can probably guess, things didn’t get any better for the Nuggets after the break. Quite frankly, they got worse. To be clear, the 80 points that they managed to score were the fewest points they have scored in a game this season, while the loss itself marked the third-largest home playoff loss in franchise history. Where individuals are concerned, Aaron Gordon was the highest scorer for the Nuggets with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting, while Nikola Jokic managed to put 16 points on the board with an impressive 16 rebounds. A nod should be given to Justin Holiday who posted 13 points off the bench. Yet, Malone made it clear that nobody - himself included - had a good night.

How bad were the Nuggets on Monday night? In total, the team shot a dismal 34.9% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc. Mind you, the Timberwolves were actually in a weakened state, with three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert absent for Game 2 due to the birth of his son. That of course begs the question as to who did what for Minnesota. With no less than four players on double digits, it would be fair to say the T’Wolves were not playing around. Towns and Edwards both put 27 points on the board, with Towns getting a team-high 12 rebounds. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the Timberwolves made 50.6% of their shots while dominating the paint and forcing 19 turnovers.

What can the Nuggets do to improve?

While there are various ways in which to answer that question, for Malone it appears to come down to a sense of focus. Indeed, the Nuggets’ coach spoke directly to the need for “a little bit more poise” when things aren’t falling into place.

“The body language of our guys is not where I think it needs to be,” Malone explained. “We just got beat up in our building. We got embarrassed in front of our fans. The good thing is we play Friday, and we get a chance to kind of get away and think about what we want to do moving forward. I’m not worried about anything other than trying to win Game 3. And really, just try to win the first quarter of Game 3 and build it from there.” That is of course something that will almost certainly be easier said than done, but at least there is a plan.

At this point, the Nuggets are in a bind. At 2-0 down, this is the first time that the team has lost the first two games of a playoff series at home. Now on the road for Games 3 and 4 it goes without saying that their task is tougher. “A loss like this is tough. You feel embarrassed, you feel exposed,” Malone remarked. “So what are you going to do about it? That’s my biggest thing. What are you going do to about it? Look at yourself in the mirror -- have the balls, have the courage to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I did not do my job tonight’ and be better next game.” Game 3 is set for Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Don’t miss it!