“They are desperate, we must be even more so. They are hungry, we must be even more so,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone called on Sunday on the eve of facing the Heat at home for the decisive game N.5 of the NBA Finals.
Denver leads 3-1 in this series. He therefore lacks a victory to be crowned champion for the first time.
“And what concerns me the most, as we approach this meeting, is human nature and having to fight against it. Most teams, when they’re up 3-1, tend to slack off, play too loose and take it for granted that they’re going to win,” Malone explained.
“That’s why the message I sent to our players is that our approach must be this: consider we are down 3 to 1” and not the other way around, he added.
“What is good for us is that in the bubble (anti-Covid in Orlando, for the 2020 play-offs), we were down 3-1 in two series (against Utah and the Clippers, editor’s note ). And we came back and we won. We know that anything is possible,” he continued.
And Malone to insist: “the victory is obligatory for us. Hopefully if that’s the mindset our guys are going to step onto the pitch and play with, then we can win.”
His star Nikola Jokic abounded in this direction.
“We will approach this meeting with the obligation to win it. It’s a big opportunity (for the title), I think everyone knows that. If we look at today’s training, the way the session went and how focused everyone was, I think we will be ready.” .
“I think we won’t be overwhelmed by emotion. This is a job that we have to do. We will be ready to move forward. It will just be a match that we will have to win,” hammered the double MVP.
