When his Nuggets entered the All-Star break on a three-game losing streak, you might’ve expected Michael Malone to be at least moderately miffed.
After all, the hard-charging coaching lifer has never shied away from a chance to hold his teams accountable. Coming off blowout losses to the Kings and Bucks, followed by another loss to Sacramento that saw Denver blow a 16-point, third-quarter lead and allow an 11-0 run in the final three minutes, it wouldn’t have been particularly surprising to see Malone take stock of a squad that had fallen to fourth place in the Western Conference and feel compelled to administer an ass-kicking.