The Denver Nuggets lost to the Detroit Pistons Saturday night, plagued again by turnovers.
The Nuggets currently rank last in the league in turnovers per game with an average of 18.1, with their 15 turnovers Saturday not improving that number – or their chance for victory – much.
“Same old story,” head coach Michael Malone said after the game. “We threw the ball all over the gym. Our turnovers are an epidemic. It’s killing us right now.”
Honestly, coach Malone has sounded like a broken record since the start of the season. Every single game it seems like he talking about turnovers this or turnovers that.
When is it going to stop? When will they improve? At this early juncture, it seems like this epidemic has eaten this team alive.
The locker room after the game was so quiet and somber that you could here a pin drop. Everyone kept to themselves for the most part, and most everything said from the players gave the vibe that this team needs some life.
I don’t know what it is going to take, but this team needs something, anything to get them on track because this painful for the players, coaches, and fans.
At the end of the day, Coach Malone feels that ignoring the basics is costing the team.
“Just value the ball.” Malone said in reference to what he told his team after another brutal loss. “Make the simple play. We are giving our opponent points every night [due to turnovers]. It’s a losing battle.”
Malone is an emotional coach, and he showed that emotion during the postgame press conference calling out a slew of players, including point guard Emmanuel Mudiay.
Mudiay had a solid game, putting up 19 points on offense. So, when I proceeded to ask Malone about Mudiay’s growth in his scoring I expected some positivity.
What I got? Well, the opposite.
“One thing I’ve seen is to many turnovers.” Malone told me eye-to-eye. “His job as a starting point guard is to value the ball, and right now that is not the case. The number one thing for a point guard is to value the ball, and that is something he needs to get better at.”
In the middle of his answer Malone said that Mudiay is “not the only one,” taking a jab at his team as a whole.
“When you average 19 turnovers a night, and you give your opponents 20 points off those turnovers, that is a group effort. So, everybody is guilty of that.”
Malone did proceed to give Mudiay credit for his improving offensive game.
Nevertheless, turnovers are a problem, and I know this is a young inexperienced team for the most part, but something needs to happen.
At this point, it seems like the Nuggs continue to prep the same way they always do, and expect to get different results. Something is not right within the confines of Pepsi Center, and change needs to come for the good of the Nuggets.
Things don’t get any easier for the Nuggets as they are set to play the Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Chicago Bulls within the next 10 days.
It’s on coach Malone to rally his players together, and figure out how to stop beating themselves to keep this season and team chemistry intact.