Lombardi once said, ” Guys who can draw up a play are a dime a dozen. Show me that unique coach who can undertstand how to motivate each different personality on his team for the duration of a season…and I’ll show you a championship coach.”
Yeah…that’s Michael Malone. I have no idea if the Nuggets will win Game 6 tonight at Minnesota, but just to get to Game 6 considering where his team was after Game 2 is somewhat remarkable.
This isn’t about manhood. It’s about doing your job. It’s about Nicola and Jamal leading and the others following. It’s about taking full responsibiliy for your play and being prideful in what your team is about.
This was a presser after practice the day after the Game 2 home blowout loss. This is a no excuses or let’s feel sorry for ourselves presser.
Lombardi also said, “The more you win, the harder it is to surrender.” Think about that. Winning championships is hard. Very hard at this level.
Since this practice…Nicola, Jamal, Aaron, KCP, Christian, and Justin Holiday have turned it on. Michael Porter, Reggie Jackson, and the benched Peyton Watson need to play better. Each player has a unique manner in which they address adversity and it’s the coaches job to understand on how to get the maximum out of his team.
Tell me how many people know the name of the current GM of the Denver Nuggets. It’s Calvin Booth. Not many people outside of Denver know his name because Coach Michael Malone is old school and coaches like his father used to coach.
Everybody knows who Sam Presti is. Isn’t that odd. Sam Presti has never hired a head coach in Oklahoma City with a personality which would in any way challenge his perceived control of the franchise all the way to the manner in which the basketballs are placed in the racks at the practice facility. I laughed my ass off when I read that in Sam Anderson’s book Boom Town. Perfect nuanced analogy.
Anyway…No 1 Rule of Coaching is Player Makes the Coach.
The end.
Big game tonight in Minnesota for the Nuggets.
MJ