Nuggets Coach Michael Malone Calls Out NBA For Getting 'Soft' Following Denver's Preseason Loss

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had no shortage of words on his team's stinker in Friday's 118-114 preseason loss to the Phoenix Suns. He believed his team was into midseason form already, and he's making it clear that conditioning is going to be key this year, given last season's rather disappointing playoff exit.

Malone Challenges Team's Conditioning

To drive home the point after losing, Malone made a strong statement: "The league has gotten so soft. Everybody's afraid to condition and run. Well, we have to."

According to CBS Sports, Malone was frustrated, playing starters Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon for all of the third quarter in hopes of getting more out of them. In what was otherwise a meaningless preseason game, he wanted his team to realize early the value of being in shape.

Learning from Last Season's Playoff Exit

The Nuggets had one of the worst seasons for a team that actually made it to the playoffs last season, getting done by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a seven-game series in which Denver led 3-2.

Malone said lack of conditioning was the main reason they ran out of gas in that final game, and Minnesota's Anthony Edwards seemed unstoppable late in the game, just as he did Tuesday night in Game 7.

Malone indeed wants to prevent another collapse this season, knowing how important conditioning is for competitions in high-pressure playoff situations.

Nuggets Are Still Championship Contenders

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was one of the key players in the team's championship run and the Nuggets just lost him. Still, Denver clings to the effort of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic for the whole floor operation.

Conditioning will be emphasized early by Malone, and if the team buys into that, Denver will be an even more improved team.

With the regular season ahead, all eyes will focus on how the Nuggets will be responding to this public challenge by Malone. If they don't disappoint, more will worry about them this year.

Miserable Failure

After a tough loss to the Suns, Malone did not chill, let alone seeing his team dropping a 94-124 beatdown against Oklahoma City Thunder.

Essentially Sports reports that Malone was not satisfied to witness the squad getting humiliated for the fourth straight loss this preseason.

"Can we take care of the ball and keep them out of transition? And we failed miserably in that regard," Malone told the team regarding his concerns.

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