Nuggets Coach Malone Trolls Lakers Again Ahead of NBA Finals

• Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has mocked the Los Angeles Lakers again
• He said no one should talk about them since they are no longer in the NBA playoffs
• The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals to book their first-ever NBA Finals trip

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone is not done with the Los Angeles Lakers after sweeping them in the Western Conference finals.

Ahead of the 2023 NBA Finals, he fired another jibe toward the 17-timer NBA champions, something Lakers fans did not like.

Malone and the Nuggets have silenced many doubters this season, especially in the playoffs. They have a perfect home record in the playoffs and have lost just three games so far. They will play either Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics in their first-ever NBA Finals appearance.

Their best player, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, is having a historic postseason. He has broken several records in this run. The Serbian big man now has eight triple-doubles in the playoffs.

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In 15 playoff games, the 28-year-old is averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 10.3 assists. He finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists in the clincher. It was his eighth triple-double of these playoffs, an NBA record for a single postseason, per CBS Sports.

Malone slanders Lakers

Ahead of the NBA Finals set to start next week, the Nuggets boss aimed a jibe at the Lakers.

“If anybody is still talking about the Lakers in the NBA Finals, that’s on them. They’re gone fishing. We’re still playing,” Malone said. “The narrative should be on whatever two teams are still alive because to get to that point is historical in nature to us. It’s the first time in franchise history the Denver Nuggets have made the NBA Finals,” via Bleacher Report.

Given their dominance in the Western Conference, many expect the Nuggets to lift their first-ever NBA title later this month.

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Malone blasts media

Sports Brief earlier reported on the Nuggets coach blasting the media for focusing on the Lakers' adjustments instead of Jokic's heroics.

After Game 1, the postgame discussion was about how the Lakers switched Rui Hachimura on Jokic to allow Anthony Davis to roam the paint.

"The narrative wasn't about Nikola. … You put that in your pipe, you smoke it. And you come back, and you know what, we're gonna go up 2-0."