With the Denver Nuggets trailing 2-0 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Semifinals last week, many media members were quick to count the defending NBA champions out.
Headlines and predictions boldly declared that the Nuggets would face an early sweep.
Denver"s head coach, Michael Malone, was not about to let these predictions go unnoticed. Always candid and willing to fire back, Malone took a unique approach to motivate his team.
"I had an edit made," Malone admitted last week after Denver’s Game 3 win. The edit was a compilation of various commentators writing off the Nuggets.
Among those declaring the series over was none other than Charles Barkley. On Inside the NBA, Barkley confidently stated, "This series is a wrap, Minnesota is better than the Nuggets."
Fast forward to the series now being tied 2-2, and those premature predictions, including Barkley’s, look somewhat misplaced.
The Nuggets showed resilience and determination, proving that it"s never wise to count them out prematurely.
On Monday night’s episode of Inside the NBA, Barkley addressed Malone’s critique directly.
Known for his outspoken nature and willingness to call out "talking heads" on other networks, Barkley didn"t shy away from defending his initial prediction.
He asserted that such hot takes are part and parcel of sports commentary. Malone"s criticism wasn"t intended to be harsh but rather served as a motivational tool.
"That really was interesting that he [Malone] said that," Barkley said. "Dude, we get paid to give an opinion. If you watched those first two games, you didn’t think Denver was going to win. They act like we just pulled it out of our a** or something or just made it up."
Charles Barkley blasts Michael Malone’s media criticism: ‘We get paid to give an opinion.’ https://t.co/ObibrsrvaW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 14, 2024
"Now Denver’s playing great. And he wanna act like he played a tape. Man, I don’t care! You know, I’ve always liked Mike Malone, I really liked his dad. But he annoys me cause’ he thinks like he won a championship, he ain’t the greatest thing since sliced bread…Stephen A. and Mike Wilbon, all of us were apparently on this tape. But we only can go by what we saw."
By creating a video compilation of pundits pronouncing the Nuggets" downfall, Malone aimed to fire up his players. “Big deal," some might say, yet it clearly resonated with the team.
