Malone vs. dad not the 1st time
The last time Michael Malone, as a head coach, coached against his father was on Dec. 13, 2014. He was in Sacramento. His father was an assistant for Detroit.
He lost. The next day, he was fired.
“I just hope I don’t get fired like last time,” Malone said, grinning.
Of course, there is no chance of that. Malone is, and will remain, the Nuggets’ head coach. And the bond between father and son will remain strong as well.
“It’s always good to see my father,” Malone said. “Obviously, we get caught up in the game and the job, and the competition, but at the end of the day, he’s meant so much to me and done so much for me and my family. Anytime you get a chance to see him, say hello, spend some time with him, it’s always welcome.”
Malone’s father, Brendan, continues to be a Pistons assistant. Assistant coaches rotate scouting reports for opposing teams. It just so happened Brendan’s turn came around to put together the report on the Nuggets.
Because the two have been on opposite benches many times before, Michael Malone brushed off any sentimentality to Saturday night’s game.
“For both of us, it’s so old hat now,” he said. “It’s always good to see him, but when that jump ball goes up, I’m trying to win, he’s trying to win. And all of the other stuff goes out the window. But obviously, I wouldn’t be in this situation without everything my father has done for me.”
Easing Nurkic in. Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic is on a minutes restriction, about 15 per night — if, as Malone points out, he wants to play him even that long. Nurkic has some work to do, mainly in conditioning.
“It’s my prerogative to play him or not play him,” Malone said. “We will get Nurk out there. We know that once he is back, gets in shape, he can help this team in a lot of different ways.” Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post
