After today’s 119-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers recorded their seventh straight opening-day loss in the NBA regular season. As Los Angeles was struggling against the Mile High City, the Nuggets fans didn’t fail in their banter against the Lakers with “Who’s your daddy” chants. Hearing the chants from the Denver fans, Jamal Murray was quick to blame coach Michael Malone for instigating such banter.
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Calling coach Malone over, Murray said, “This is you! This is your fault!”
After all, under the tutelage of Malone, the Nuggets have won their first NBA championship and have emerged as a formidable side to compete against in the Western Conference. After sweeping the Lakers in the Conference, Mike Malone still had respect for the Lakers putting up a strong show.
However, his comments mocking LeBron James’ retirement rumors after the sweep was something that stood out the most among fans. Additionally, just before the game, Coach Malone seemed rather chilled out.
Nuggets HC Michael Malone shrugged off the Lakers ahead of the game
After the 4-0 trashing in the Western Conference Finals, it seems like the Lakers still were hopeful of their might to conquer the Mile High City. LA stars like Anthony Davis seemed quite anticipated in their opening night match against the Nuggets. However, coach Michael Malone of the Nuggets didn’t seem much bothered by the pre-game trash talk that was ongoing.
Malone was quick to shrug off all the past exchanges between the Lakers and the Nuggets, including the WCF sweep last season. With increasing tensions from the LA side, Coach Malone declared the Lakers’ worry as a problem of their own. Putting further pressure on the Lakeshow, here is what the 2023 champion coach said to ESPN:
“Oh, they’re talking about us? That was what, four months ago? I can’t speak for anybody in L.A. But if they’re still worried about us, that’s on them.”
At first instance, Malone didn’t seem to mean any disrespect towards the LA side. In fact, he reiterated his tremendous respect for Lakers coach Darvin Ham. Mike Malone believes this season is a new challenge. Hence, it’s best to ignore all the talking and noise that has been going around in the background.
“This is a new season, a new challenge, and it was a hell of a series against them. I know it was a 4–0 sweep, but all those games seemed like they went down to the wire. We have tremendous respect for that team. I have tremendous respect for Darvin Ham as a coach and the job that he did. But yeah, I don’t listen to any of that stuff. I don’t know what they’re saying, and if we’re on their minds, then I guess that’s on them.”
The Western Conference Finals sparked a new rivalry between the Nuggets and the Lakers. The hostility seemed even more prominent when coach Darvin Ham commented, “This sh*t ain’t over,” while speaking of Malone this off-season.
The Lakers’ trashing in this season opener definitely came off as a blow for Darvin Ham and his team. Furthermore, star player Anthony Davis surprisingly not scoring a single point in the second half was a major shocker for the LA fans.
Though it’s pretty early in the season to comment on the Lakers’ form, LeBron James and Co. are definitely looking for an opportunity to bounce back or perhaps even give an equivalent trashing to Denver when they face the Lakers next in Los Angeles.
