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Denver Nuggets: What if we miss the playoffs?

By Michael Longhofer

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 13: Head Coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 13, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 13: Head Coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 13, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 13: Head Coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 13, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 13: Head Coach Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 13, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Miss the playoffs and Michael Malone will be fired.

He doesn’t deserve it, not completely.  We can harp on his mistakes with rotations and such but we’ve recently seen a bad coach in Denver (Brian Shaw). Who remembers Jim Leyland’s stint with the Rockies?  We expect a lot from coaches and we should, they wield a lot of power within the organization.  They make a tiny percentage of what their players make though and their job security is non-existent.

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An internet commenter suggested that we are where the Golden State Warriors were when they fired Mark Jackson and hired Steve Kerr.  That move took the Warriors to two championships in three years.  But, did it?  Was that all it took, swapping Jackson for Kerr?  Adding experience, including winning playoff experience, to Curry, Thompson and Green changed that team.  I know Jackson didn’t embrace the three-point shot and had largely lost his players, I’m not defending that.  I’m simply saying that Warriors team was on that track and none of those three mentioned players struggled with significant injury during their rise.

There will be too much pressure for Denver to remove Malone and there’s really no way around the weight of the talented Nuggets consecutive playoff misses falling on coaching.  Malone has to shoulder this, it’s not about whether he deserves it.  This team should be where Portland is, holding on to the third seed.  Top-to-bottom, we have a better squad than the Blazers.  There’s no angle to look at this that absolves Malone of responsibility.

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