There was a time when some wondered aloud if Michael Malone was the right man for the job. His understanding and deployment of his offense savant, Nikola Jokic, was in doubt. His reputation as a defensive minded coach seemed incongruent with the results on the floor. The Nuggets’ record was improving, but the playoffs remained out of reach.
That all feels so very long ago.
After the Denver Nuggets completed an unlikely comeback from an inexplicable deficit to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ development team on Wednesday night, a small group of reporters gathered and waited for Denver’s head coach to turn the corner and take his place along the backdrop that’s been plastered onto the hallway outside of the Nuggets’ locker room.