The Denver Nuggets can make history on Monday night. They are now just one win away from securing their first-ever NBA title, and the fact that they will be playing in front of their own home crowd could be the cherry on top of the cake.
In spite of the magnitude of what’s at stake in Game 5 against the Miami Heat, however, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone isn’t actually sweating it. As a matter of fact, the veteran shot-caller had a hilarious response when he was asked if he was well-rested for tonight’s contest:
“Yeah man, I slept like a baby. I woke up every 2 hours and cried,” Malone said.
The whole room laughed after Malone made his confession, but the Nuggets coach quickly turned serious as he explained why he isn’t feeling anxious at the moment. Apparently, this is the same attitude the rest of the team has imbibed heading into the most important game of their respective careers:
“I think the reason that myself, our coaches, our players aren’t nervous is because we’ve worked so hard to get here and we’re prepared,” Malone said. “… Our guys are locked in. We know tonight’s gonna be a hell of a challenge. We know it’s gonna be an amazing atmosphere in front of the best fans in the world.
“All you can do is work and you gotta trust that process to carry you through, and we have great players who I feel confident are willing and able to do that.”
Reporter: “Did you get any sleep last night, one night away from potentially an NBA Championship?”
Michael Malone: “Yeah man, I slept like a baby. I woke up every 2 hours and cried.”
(via @TomerAzarly) pic.twitter.com/1pslpi9uXL
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 12, 2023
Michael Malone isn’t downplaying the importance of Monday’s contest, despite the fact that the Nuggets hold a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. After all, this is the Miami Heat we’re talking about here, and if there’s any team out there who can come back from such a significant deficit, then it has to be Jimmy Butler and Co. However, as Coach Malone said, the Nuggets have been preparing for this moment for many years now, and at this point, they’re just set to reap the benefits of their hard work.
The post ‘Slept like a baby’: Michael Malone gets brutally honest on anxiety level heading into Game 5 vs. Heat appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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