Denver Nuggets begin post-Michael Malone era trying not to fall apart against the Sacramento Kings

LOS ANGELES – Following the stunning removal of coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth on April 8, the Denver Nuggets are on the road on April 9 (April 10, Singapore time) to face the Sacramento Kings with David Adelman overseeing the final three games of their regular season.

A four-game losing streak dropped Denver (47-32) into a six-team tangle of Western Conference teams vying to either land home-court advantage in the upcoming play-offs or avoid the play-in round.

The Nuggets began their earth-shattering April 8 1½ games behind the third-placed Los Angeles Lakers, ahead of the Lakers’ 136-120 loss to the National Basketball Association-leading Oklahoma City.

Denver are now level with the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, and a game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Denver are the second team in the West’s play-off muddle to fire their coach down the stretch. Memphis, one of the Nuggets’ final two regular-season opponents, relieved Taylor Jenkins of his duties on March 28.

Malone’s dismissal comes just two years after leading Denver to their only NBA championship. His 471 victories are the most in the franchise’s history.

Adelman, a Nuggets assistant since 2017, is taking on his first head-coaching duties since leading Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon, to a city championship in 2011.

Josh Kroenke, vice-chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, said the shock move was done “with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA Championship”.

The pursuit of play-off positioning already faced uncertainty for the Nuggets, with Jamal Murray sidelined until at least the start of the play-offs with a hamstring injury.

Denver were without the guard for all four losses in their ongoing skid. Christian Braun scored 30 points in a 125-120 loss to the Indiana Pacers on April 6.

“The locker room knows,” Braun said, stressing his role in the Nuggets avoiding the play-in.

“It’s on me to make sure we’re ready before we run out, that we’re ready when we step on the court, and that throughout the game, somebody’s got to be talking to them.”

Amid the team’s turmoil, centre Nikola Jokic is pursuing the fourth Most Valuable Player award of his career, which would match LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain.

Jokic is also on pace to join Oscar Robertson and current Denver teammate Russell Westbrook as the only players to average a triple-double in a season.

Jokic is posting 30.0 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game following a recent stretch that includes a 61-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist effort against Minnesota; and 41 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists against Indiana.

Sacramento (39-40) will look to contain Jokic and continue Denver’s disarray, while also aiming to solidify their place in the play-in.

The Kings lead Dallas by a game for ninth place after rallying to beat the play-off-bound Detroit Pistons, 127-117 on April 7.

The comeback from a 10-point half-time deficit gave the Kings a 3-3 finish to their final road trip of the season, with all three wins coming in a row.

Zach LaVine heads into the April 9 game having scored 80 combined points over the Kings’ last two matchups, including a season-high 43 against Detroit.

“When he gets a heater going, it’s a different type of heater,” Sacramento coach Doug Christie said of LaVine. “You just want him to touch the ball every time.”

When the Kings last saw the Nuggets on Jan 23, Sacramento had not yet acquired LaVine. The three-team deal in February sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs and brought LaVine from Chicago Bulls, reuniting him in the backcourt with DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan is coming off a 37-point display against Detroit.

Meanwhile, on April 8, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back to beat the Los Lakers 136-120 in a hard-fought battle that saw Luka Doncic controversially ejected in the fourth quarter.

Two days after losing by 27 points to the Lakers, the Thunder avenged that loss thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander’s 13th 40-point game of the season, with Jalen Williams adding 26 and Luguentz Dort 17.

The contest pivoted on the fourth-quarter incident that led to the Lakers’ Slovenian star Doncic picking up a second technical foul and being tossed from the game.

Doncic was ejected following a one-handed jump shot which put the Lakers 108-107 up with 7min 40sec remaining, after the officiating crew’s J.T. Orr judged he had been verbally abused by the player following the bucket.

REUTERS