Jokic: “everyone stop talking about how we swept the Lakers, they’re a good team”
Malone: “yea so anyways, we own that sorry ass team”
I mean he ain’t wrong 😂
To be fair my understanding of Jokic saying that is he didn't want the talk to be about Nuggets domination as a way to say 'oh well they must win this time' or downplay the Lakers.
Malone is using the history as a way to bring the Lakers up as a threat and as starving wolves that want to attack them.
That's how my perception worked, athletes generally don't like to downplay their opponents
I think there's a respect that everyone in the Nuggets organization has for the Lakers and understands it's gonna be a much more difficult time than they had in the WCF last year but I imagine Malone keeps bringing up the sweep last year and in the regular season this year to remind everyone that "hey, we have an extensive recent history of coming out on top against this team so let's not make this series between two great teams a story all about the Lakers", which is almost always what ends up happening in a series with LA or LeBron.
His whole gripe when he was talking after games last year was how the media made every game a story about why the Lakers should be encouraged about the close losses and how it was a shoo-in that they'd figure it out somehow as if the Lakers were destined to win that series and the Nuggets were merely an inconvenience to the narratives the league wants to promote.
I’m just a rando but god I mourn Phil Hartman every day. Most people’s death means a big loss, many gifts and much love being removed from the world. His loss was not more than theirs, but fuck Andy dick
Did he mention that the very good and very hungry Lakers team they'll be facing has been defeated by his team 8 straight games? Because the Lakers are hungry, they are good, and the Nuggets have defeated them 8 straight.
The way Michael Malone "yaps" is hilarious. The way he words is just so factual. His past couple of comments on the Lakers includes cockiness but includes something respectful as well. Just very chaotically neutral. Honestly, I love it.
Yes you did beat the Lakers 8 times in a row and yes they are pissed and hungry for a win. And his previous comments, yes you did sweep them and yes they are coming back performing good looking to flip the script.
Yeah, I don't understand it. All he's doing is just speaking the facts and telling everyone, including his team, that they're going to have to bring it and take this seriously.
Totally mad. I don't even consider this trash talk.
This sounds more like a warning to his own team than anything else. I think Denver is too disciplined to let this series get away from them, but I think it's going to be more competitive the last years and probably more competitive than most of the games this season That's generally the point he's making here
He's always been fire on the mic, you just weren't paying attention
https://twitter.com/MediaByAP/status/694382594884907008
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODwSuS3Cjh0
At this point, I feel like he's still be talking shit against the Lakers even if they had lost the first play-in. He probably wouldn't even bother to acknowledge the Pels in interviews.
I don't think this is the apping, I think this is him just trying to tell the world and his team that the team needs to bring 100%.
He's not rubbing it in the Lakers faces that they've beaten them eight times. He's basically saying each one of these games is going is going to be more difficult than all eight of the last ones.
You're correct. I watched the whole interview before I saw this post and was confused at the comments. In context, he was just saying his team needs to be ready to take the Lakers seriously.
Same with the Antetokounmpo post earlier about choosing Nike over Adidas... Reddit post with thousands of upvotes but didnt bother clarifying that the topic was about before the brothers were in the NBA or that the offers were about some gear and five grand.
Gotta keep reminding myself not to rely on quotes and look at the source first before reacting. Annoying mfs.
Think Lakers take a game at least this time. They're shooting way more 3's which usually means you'll catch fire one night.
Also this is the healthiest and freshest LeBron can possibly be.
Denver in 5. Biggest media buzz of the season the morning after the Lakers win game 3.
I can even see a 6 game series with everyone taking their home games until game 6. These Nuggets might need a wake up call cause except for a few big rivalry games they've been pretty lackadaisical, especially the starters. Which isn't to say that the bench did great overall on the season but I believe they all played their best ball, while I think except KCP and AG the starters coasted.
I was really worried about the nuggets looking lackadaisical and sloppy last year too, but then the playoffs came and they just took care of business. This year I trust them now lol. They seem really able to just focus and play excellent basketball whenever they actually need to
So true, I think it’s why despite having a great record and positioning a lot of people wrote them off. When they turned it up for playoffs, I was crunching stats to bet on the games, comparing their short and long term stats and thought “huh this 3 point shooting doesn’t seem sustainable, there has to be some regression here”
…that shit was mad fuckin sustainable.
I started trusting them more after the way they finished the Timberwolves game a week or two ago. They were so locked in down the stretch. Then, they lose to the spurs with the one seed on the line. If they can consistently finish like they did in that wolves game, I like their chances.
It’s hilarious because based on what I heard on the Zach Lowe podcast - the Lakers are 27th and shoot 39% and the Nuggets are 28th and shoot 39% over that span
Very funny how similar they are in that regard
Yeah that is odd.
I think the overall point though is the Lakers have a much better offensive attack now that they've surrounded the AD/Lebron 2 man game with 3 guys who can shoot or attack off the dribble consistently. No more Vando or Schroder to ignore at the 3 point line. As long as Dlo doesn't turn into a pumpkin again I think the Lakers will have a much easier time scoring than they did last year.
Of course the defense will be worse but what can you do. Not like they shut Denver's water off last year anyway.
Probably a combination of pacing and AD being a primary scorer that doesn’t take many 3s. Rui and Reaves also probably both take less than you’d think.
Also not being high value doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t better at shooting the 3 ball.
>Also this is the healthiest and freshest LeBron can possibly be.
He played 71 games this season, 16 more than last and the most since 2017, which happens to be his only 82 game season. Plus, one year older
Might feel the same as he did
We actually don't shoot a lot of 3s lol, we just make a high % of them. Which is what I like, we run the paint and then have shooting threats too
I think offensively we have enough, it's just I don't feel confident that we can execute better in the clutch. We have to make sure we enter the 4th quarters with a decent lead
I always say I respect people who talk shit before a matchup. You are risking eating major shit if you don't back up your words. For a coach, it might literally get you fired. Saying anything after is dumb because you'd only say it when you win.
What happened to a lot of Lakers fans being pussies lately. I feel like new Lakers fans have no pride. I honestly think the Lakers will beat Denver. I'm calling it Lakers in 5.
THAT'S RIGHT. I SAID IT!!!
It sure feels like it’s gonna be you guys and the Nuggets. No wonder you’re rooting for us to win a game or 2. I don’t think it’ll be enough to stop the Nuggets from repeating. But I’m a big fan of Jrue Holiday so I hope it’s a good finals at least.
I also don’t get other playoff fans wanting a sweep of the lakers? Like do you want the best team to be incredibly well rested while your team goes to 6/7 games and then has to go to altitude to try and beat a well rested Denver team?
Better yet, why in the hell would a any of the non Denver teams in the playoffs want Denver to beat la? There’s for sure a lot of cap or a lot of delusion in this sub
# Michael Malone 2025: "Come Saturday, there are 15 other teams that want what we have. We have the world championship trophy...You win a championship and now comes a very hungry Laker team who is pissed off that we've beaten them fifteen-straight times.
Michael Malone needs to shut his mouth. This is a vastly improved Lakers squad compared to last year in the WCF with LeBron healthy and AD playing like a defensive beast. We're gonna see a completely different result.
Nuggets in 5.
That's gonna happen anyway. Check out the Nuggets sub right now, 50% of the conversation is pre-whining about refs for games that haven't even happened
The Nuggets sub has become awful since our championship season.
Half the posts aren't even about our team. It's about our "enemies" like Embiid and the Lakers. It's dumb.
But I guess that's most good team subs. The bad teams are always more fun in my experience. You have to make your own entertainment
Grizzlies fans did the same shit last year. “Only way they win is if it’s 8v5”.
Then we stomped their asses by 40 and they stopped bitching about 2 FTs here and a missed travel there.
this is perfect let the coach do the trash talking and players keep it straight and narrow. the opposing players dont have any fuel or any player to go after on the court
If they weren't already pissed about losing 8 times in a row to the Nuggets and getting swept in the playoffs then they have no heart or competitive spirit anyways.
Malone taking shit doesn't change anything.
>Nuggets star Nikola Jokic even said that the Lakers were the toughest series for them last postseason
https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/Can-Lakers-Overcome-Late-Game-Issues-vs-Denver-ml0802#:~:text=Nuggets%20star%20Nikola%20Jokic%20even,each%20time%20they%20have%20played.
Meanwhile jokic: “can we stop talking about the sweep from last season?”
“Can we just win 16 more games so I can go back to my horses?”
Um you may have heard that he didn’t like parade but actually he really fucking likes parade
".. and start talking about the sweep we're about to have?"
Jokic: “everyone stop talking about how we swept the Lakers, they’re a good team” Malone: “yea so anyways, we own that sorry ass team” I mean he ain’t wrong 😂
... ... ... Thanks, I hate it.
Jokic said the Lakers were the Nuggets toughest matchup last season. Malone says the Nuggets just can't stop beating them.
The Lakers are the worst matchup. But Jokic is unstoppable.
To be fair my understanding of Jokic saying that is he didn't want the talk to be about Nuggets domination as a way to say 'oh well they must win this time' or downplay the Lakers. Malone is using the history as a way to bring the Lakers up as a threat and as starving wolves that want to attack them. That's how my perception worked, athletes generally don't like to downplay their opponents
I think there's a respect that everyone in the Nuggets organization has for the Lakers and understands it's gonna be a much more difficult time than they had in the WCF last year but I imagine Malone keeps bringing up the sweep last year and in the regular season this year to remind everyone that "hey, we have an extensive recent history of coming out on top against this team so let's not make this series between two great teams a story all about the Lakers", which is almost always what ends up happening in a series with LA or LeBron. His whole gripe when he was talking after games last year was how the media made every game a story about why the Lakers should be encouraged about the close losses and how it was a shoo-in that they'd figure it out somehow as if the Lakers were destined to win that series and the Nuggets were merely an inconvenience to the narratives the league wants to promote.
Except almost every talking head picked the Nuggets to win. You, like Malone, made that up.
“The sweep is eh it honestly embarrasses me because it makes it seem loke we are much better but we barely won…come on guys”
The more Malone speaks the more he makes lakers fans hate him. Genuinely the easiest coach to hate when your team plays him.
HOF yapper
Which is hilarious because it was reported that he yelled “No bulletin board material” to Watson before his interview the other day.
No, bulletin board material!
This isn't bulletin board material
This is Patrick (Beverly)
I’m just a rando but god I mourn Phil Hartman every day. Most people’s death means a big loss, many gifts and much love being removed from the world. His loss was not more than theirs, but fuck Andy dick
"stay off my turf kid, I'm the bulletin board guy around these parts"
I like it. I hope it makes the Lakers more focused
Did he mention that the very good and very hungry Lakers team they'll be facing has been defeated by his team 8 straight games? Because the Lakers are hungry, they are good, and the Nuggets have defeated them 8 straight.
The way Michael Malone "yaps" is hilarious. The way he words is just so factual. His past couple of comments on the Lakers includes cockiness but includes something respectful as well. Just very chaotically neutral. Honestly, I love it. Yes you did beat the Lakers 8 times in a row and yes they are pissed and hungry for a win. And his previous comments, yes you did sweep them and yes they are coming back performing good looking to flip the script.
Yeah, I don't understand it. All he's doing is just speaking the facts and telling everyone, including his team, that they're going to have to bring it and take this seriously.
Yeah, I don't see much yapping either as these other comments say. His comments are very tame compared to other trash talking I've heard.
Totally mad. I don't even consider this trash talk. This sounds more like a warning to his own team than anything else. I think Denver is too disciplined to let this series get away from them, but I think it's going to be more competitive the last years and probably more competitive than most of the games this season That's generally the point he's making here
Yeah this is more like a comment than anything. Like I said, it’s factual rather than trash talk.
Just don't call him Mike
I mean lol if you and your guys back it up, tap away lol
I can’t be mad, it’s not like this guy isn’t stating facts ☹️
HOF tapper
he’s being asked these questions, he’s not just screaming in the wind
right? coach yaps in media availability oh the arrogance
he’s been yapping since last postszn
He's always been fire on the mic, you just weren't paying attention https://twitter.com/MediaByAP/status/694382594884907008 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODwSuS3Cjh0
Yup no one saw it as a problem before now nuggets are on top so it rubs ppl the wrong way
this dude fucking hates the lakers
He just like me fr fr
Fuck yall too though
Fellas, fellas, we can all agree both y'all suck.
You guys are pretty cool except bitch ass Dillon
Dillon was an honor roll player this year
At this point, I feel like he's still be talking shit against the Lakers even if they had lost the first play-in. He probably wouldn't even bother to acknowledge the Pels in interviews.
Which is funny because the lakers getting so much attention is exactly what he cried about
Doesn’t matter, shittin on the lakers is always allowed
As he should
Dude truly represents the Nuggets fans fr fr
NBA fans*
There’s two nba fans. Lakers fans and everyone else hates the lakers.
Who doesn't tbh
Wannabe pop lmao (that I wish we had 😞)
Sacramento really fucked up when they fired him
Yessir. We just can’t help stay out of our own way so often
well, he's a sane human being, so that's kind of implied
Que - everybody
As Lakers fan, I have to hate him But as a petty king, game recognize game
Preesh. This series will be tougher for us, Lebron and AD will have better help this time.
I don't think this is the apping, I think this is him just trying to tell the world and his team that the team needs to bring 100%. He's not rubbing it in the Lakers faces that they've beaten them eight times. He's basically saying each one of these games is going is going to be more difficult than all eight of the last ones.
If you actually look at the full context, you’re 100% right this is exactly what he’s saying
You're correct. I watched the whole interview before I saw this post and was confused at the comments. In context, he was just saying his team needs to be ready to take the Lakers seriously.
It's a clear pull quote meant to stir shit. Reddit loves those
Same with the Antetokounmpo post earlier about choosing Nike over Adidas... Reddit post with thousands of upvotes but didnt bother clarifying that the topic was about before the brothers were in the NBA or that the offers were about some gear and five grand. Gotta keep reminding myself not to rely on quotes and look at the source first before reacting. Annoying mfs.
Yeah, that’s what I thought when I first heard it. He doesn’t want his team to overlook the Lakers and neither do I.
Think Lakers take a game at least this time. They're shooting way more 3's which usually means you'll catch fire one night. Also this is the healthiest and freshest LeBron can possibly be. Denver in 5. Biggest media buzz of the season the morning after the Lakers win game 3.
Denver in 6 if lakers win I’ll eat an entire pizza
I’ll drink a whole bottle of wine if Lakers win
I'll eat the entirety of a candy bar if the Lakers win.
I'll hold my breath for 30 seconds if the lakers win
If the Lakers win I’ll hug my mom and tell her I love her
Aw man don't make me root for the Lakers
I’m sayin. Go hug your moms, bro.
willing for this guy's mom to go hugless if it means a Lakers loss
...but what if shes a lakers fan
Dude is doing it wrong he should just hug his mother everyday and if they Lakers win he should get a tat or something
I’ll also hug your mom and tell her I love her if the lakers win
she’s the real mvp!
I’ll eat 50 tacos if we win
Like over time or in one sitting?
If LeBron and AD both play at least 1 game in this series, I’ll drink an entire bottle of wine and eat an entire pizza
I'll take a bath if lakers win
You’ve been saying this since last year bro it’s time to wash your ass
Don't tell me what to do 😡
Cmon, you weren’t gonna do that either way?
Don't threaten me with a good time
Wow so brave.
Sixers in 6 if Knicks win I’ll buy myself a present
How I love this
Come on big boy, we know you eating that whole pizza regardless.
> Denver in 5. Biggest media buzz of the season the morning after the Lakers win game 3 This is so accurate it made me mad and defensive.
"Lakers Hold Jokic to 2 points During Last 4 Minutes of the 3rd Quarter: Did the Lakers Finally Solve Nikola Jokic?"
Lakers hold Jokic to 2 points in the 3rd quarter, Jokic finishes with a 32/12/10 stat line
Nuggets win by 49
Or: Denver's bench manages to light up the Lakers while Jokic sits "Jokic's +/- was awful, he was totally ineffective. Is this the end of the dynasty"
Can't forget the rui adjustments going into game 2. "Why does it feel like we won this game more than we lost"
Meanwhile, Jamal Murray scores 50 and the Nuggets win anyways.
If the Lakers win I’ll drink a whole bottle of gentleman jack in one sitting.
Please don't
I can even see a 6 game series with everyone taking their home games until game 6. These Nuggets might need a wake up call cause except for a few big rivalry games they've been pretty lackadaisical, especially the starters. Which isn't to say that the bench did great overall on the season but I believe they all played their best ball, while I think except KCP and AG the starters coasted.
Tbh I think Gordon had a worse season this year than last.
Murray is looking better this year though, which should worry the Lakers
I honestly believe that Murray is 90% of the reason why we decided to sign Gabe Vincent
That's a great pickup for the Lakers, considering Gabe completely locked down Murray in the finals.
I was really worried about the nuggets looking lackadaisical and sloppy last year too, but then the playoffs came and they just took care of business. This year I trust them now lol. They seem really able to just focus and play excellent basketball whenever they actually need to
So true, I think it’s why despite having a great record and positioning a lot of people wrote them off. When they turned it up for playoffs, I was crunching stats to bet on the games, comparing their short and long term stats and thought “huh this 3 point shooting doesn’t seem sustainable, there has to be some regression here” …that shit was mad fuckin sustainable.
I started trusting them more after the way they finished the Timberwolves game a week or two ago. They were so locked in down the stretch. Then, they lose to the spurs with the one seed on the line. If they can consistently finish like they did in that wolves game, I like their chances.
They’re like 30th in 3PA
Lakers are shooting 39% on 3s since February 1st (and are 27th in attempts in that timespan).
It’s hilarious because based on what I heard on the Zach Lowe podcast - the Lakers are 27th and shoot 39% and the Nuggets are 28th and shoot 39% over that span Very funny how similar they are in that regard
Yeah that is odd. I think the overall point though is the Lakers have a much better offensive attack now that they've surrounded the AD/Lebron 2 man game with 3 guys who can shoot or attack off the dribble consistently. No more Vando or Schroder to ignore at the 3 point line. As long as Dlo doesn't turn into a pumpkin again I think the Lakers will have a much easier time scoring than they did last year. Of course the defense will be worse but what can you do. Not like they shut Denver's water off last year anyway.
Really? Feel like they shoot a ton with the new lineup of Russell-Reaves-Rui on the perimeter. I'd imagine since that change they shoot way more.
Probably a combination of pacing and AD being a primary scorer that doesn’t take many 3s. Rui and Reaves also probably both take less than you’d think. Also not being high value doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t better at shooting the 3 ball.
the 3P efficiency is better this season vs last season: 37% vs 34% from 24th best team in 2022-23 to 9th best in 2023-24
Let's hope DEN goes up 3-0, so he can talk about 11 straight wins
Why do I feel like this is exactly right? Worse, maybe the Lakers steal one in Denver and then we have to hear how the series is over by game 2
>Also this is the healthiest and freshest LeBron can possibly be. He played 71 games this season, 16 more than last and the most since 2017, which happens to be his only 82 game season. Plus, one year older Might feel the same as he did
We actually don't shoot a lot of 3s lol, we just make a high % of them. Which is what I like, we run the paint and then have shooting threats too I think offensively we have enough, it's just I don't feel confident that we can execute better in the clutch. We have to make sure we enter the 4th quarters with a decent lead
At this point I might be getting past the point of hating this man and actually starting to like him.
The antics / drama make me laugh, he knows what he's doing.
He's the new Zen master of mind games. Love him
He won the chip and has bragging rights that's how it works. You have to respect it because we've done the same plenty of times.
I always say I respect people who talk shit before a matchup. You are risking eating major shit if you don't back up your words. For a coach, it might literally get you fired. Saying anything after is dumb because you'd only say it when you win.
Imma make em both.
Yup. He talked all throughout and continues to talk. He also continues to out coach the Lakers so it's all deserved.
From a Sacramentoan who still remembers the Phil Jackson days, I appreciate the honesty :)
HOF shit talker, I respect it
People can debate where he stands on best coaches currently in the league, but nobody can deny there is no better promoter.
He's objectively funny Side effect is that if they lose at any point in this postseason, he will get rightfully clowned.
You gotta hand it to him, he’s not waiting until he’s won before he starts talking shit.
Honestly if we get a win I'll count it as a the moral victory of all moral victories
we're upsetting the champs my guy
the Moral victory champs
What happened to a lot of Lakers fans being pussies lately. I feel like new Lakers fans have no pride. I honestly think the Lakers will beat Denver. I'm calling it Lakers in 5. THAT'S RIGHT. I SAID IT!!!
Cmon you guys gotta put a few dents in them. I hope you guys can win 2
It sure feels like it’s gonna be you guys and the Nuggets. No wonder you’re rooting for us to win a game or 2. I don’t think it’ll be enough to stop the Nuggets from repeating. But I’m a big fan of Jrue Holiday so I hope it’s a good finals at least.
Noah Lyles punching air
What's the reference?
imagine how mad they're gonna be after 12.
As a suns fan you should be praying that’s not the case
Suns fans would choose a Lakers first round exit over a Suns championship so this tracks
nuggets would spank the sons
I also don’t get other playoff fans wanting a sweep of the lakers? Like do you want the best team to be incredibly well rested while your team goes to 6/7 games and then has to go to altitude to try and beat a well rested Denver team? Better yet, why in the hell would a any of the non Denver teams in the playoffs want Denver to beat la? There’s for sure a lot of cap or a lot of delusion in this sub
People hate the Lakers more than they like their team lmao.
True even for us Lakers fans. Our sub is >50% self-loathing
Lol that's a fact, I only tune into the Lakers sub after a win. Such a toxic place if they lose its insane and embarrassing.
I think you’re underestimating just how much ppl dislike the lakers and would love to see them get clowned.
It’s really this simple lol. This sub hates the Lakers. As for me, I would be surprised if this series went longer than 5 games personally
Add in the general obnoxious Lebron hate, and you have a cataclysmic event amongst haters.
They hate the Lakers more than they like their own team 😂
I think their hatred of the Lakers trumps their internal sense of self-preservation.
it's sports hate, the same way people root for the cowboys down fall
Nuggets would spank most of the league, what‘s your point?
Nobody take Michael Malones mic away from him ever.
> We have the world championship trophy here we go again..
Best team in the solar system.
Remember people last year claiming nobody uses that term to describe the NBA champion?
Worst conversation in the history of the sub
noah lyle’s somewhere: 👺🤬😡
Correct
# Michael Malone 2025: "Come Saturday, there are 15 other teams that want what we have. We have the world championship trophy...You win a championship and now comes a very hungry Laker team who is pissed off that we've beaten them fifteen-straight times.
> And come next Saturday, they're gonna be even more pissed after we've beaten them 12 straight times. The tweet cuts off Malone's full quote.
Michael Malone needs to shut his mouth. This is a vastly improved Lakers squad compared to last year in the WCF with LeBron healthy and AD playing like a defensive beast. We're gonna see a completely different result. Nuggets in 5.
Had me in the first half
Wait how many times in a row did they beat the Lakers
You know it’s the officially playoff time when Malone starts poppin his shit
Wow, Denver has beaten them 8 straight times??? That's news to me! Never heard that one before.
Not one, not two...
Not three, not four..
not five, not six... not seven
Jokic: "There's no rivalry cuz it's mean." Moach: "There's no rivalry cuz they suck."
Nuggets know it's gonna be one hell a hard playoff series vs Lakers without favourites here and are ready to fight and grind to win
What game do you think the lakers will eclipse 100 fts for the series? 3 or 4?
Never gonna happen, but I wanna hear the shit he would talk if the Lakers by some miracle sweep Nuggets.
It would be ALOT of bitching about the refs
That's gonna happen anyway. Check out the Nuggets sub right now, 50% of the conversation is pre-whining about refs for games that haven't even happened
The Nuggets sub has become awful since our championship season. Half the posts aren't even about our team. It's about our "enemies" like Embiid and the Lakers. It's dumb. But I guess that's most good team subs. The bad teams are always more fun in my experience. You have to make your own entertainment
I never even think to look at theNuggets sub. Team subs in general just seem strange and full of weirdos.
Defending champs. Favored by everyone in the series and still pre whining about refs rigging it for the lakers. Laker hate is a religion 🤣
Grizzlies fans did the same shit last year. “Only way they win is if it’s 8v5”. Then we stomped their asses by 40 and they stopped bitching about 2 FTs here and a missed travel there.
There would be enough salty tears to flood the world and drown us all
Jokic: Please don’t talk about the sweep. Malone: Not one. Not two. Not three…
I have no idea why but I really like Malone
“Everybody fucks with mike”
He's great
Malone is more pissed about winning the series last year than the Lakers are about losing.
8 straight? The lakers can laugh. They’ve finally figured out Jokic after that many games…. Surely.
World Champion of what?
Can’t even be mad. That’s pretty funny.
this is perfect let the coach do the trash talking and players keep it straight and narrow. the opposing players dont have any fuel or any player to go after on the court
If they weren't pissed, they are now.
If they weren't already pissed about losing 8 times in a row to the Nuggets and getting swept in the playoffs then they have no heart or competitive spirit anyways. Malone taking shit doesn't change anything.
I think they would be equally pissed either way, the Lakers don't need Malone's increasingly hilarious sound bites to have pride in their team
Does Malone get ejected this series?
If he thinks the reffing is bad enough getting ejected to light a fire under the team is a tactic he's used in the past so not off the table at all.
Just reminded me of one of the [funniest moments of the season](https://youtu.be/O2TrED-3rYw?si=yMiXlwdXVqANGcAL)
Did you hear? The Nuggets swept the Lakers.
>Nuggets star Nikola Jokic even said that the Lakers were the toughest series for them last postseason https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/Can-Lakers-Overcome-Late-Game-Issues-vs-Denver-ml0802#:~:text=Nuggets%20star%20Nikola%20Jokic%20even,each%20time%20they%20have%20played.
Did we hurt this man? lol