Nuggets begin post-Malone era trying not to fall apart vs. Kings
April 10 - Following Tuesday's stunning removal of head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth, the Denver Nuggets are on the road Wednesday to face the Sacramento Kings with interim coach 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 playoffs or avoid the play-in round.
The Nuggets began their earth-shattering Tuesday 1 1/2 games behind the third-place Los Angeles Lakers, pending the Lakers' matchup with NBA-leading Oklahoma City. Denver sat a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State, Minnesota and Memphis.
Denver is the second team in the West's playoff muddle to fire its coach down the stretch. Memphis, one of the Nuggets' final two regular-season opponents, relieved Taylor Jenkins of his duties March 28.
Malone's dismissal comes just two years removed from Denver appearing in and winning its only NBA Finals. His 471 wins with the Nuggets are the most in franchise history.
Adelman, a Nuggets assistant since 2017, is taking on his first head-coaching duties since leading Lincoln High School in Portland, Ore., to a city championship in 2011.
"This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully," Josh Kroenke, vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, said in a statement. "We do it only with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA Championship and delivering another title to Denver."
The pursuit of playoff positioning down the stretch already faced uncertainty for the Nuggets, with Jamal Murray sidelined until at least the start of the playoffs with a hamstring injury.
Denver was without Murray for all four losses in its ongoing skid. Christian Braun scored 30 points in a 125-120 loss to Indiana on Sunday. Braun stressed his role in the Nuggets finding their footing to avoid the play-in.
"The locker room knows," Braun said. "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, center 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 vs. Minnesota; and 41 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists vs. Indiana.
Sacramento (39-40) looks to contain Jokic and continue Denver's disarray Wednesday, while also aiming to solidify its place in the play-in. The Kings lead Dallas by a game for ninth place through Monday after they rallied in the second half to beat the playoff-bound Detroit Pistons, 127-117.
The comeback from a 10-point halftime deficit gave the Kings a 3-3 finish to their final road trip of the season, all three wins coming in a row.
Zach LaVine heads into Wednesday's game having scored 80 combined points over the Kings' last two, 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 that sent De'Aaron Fox to San Antonio and brought LaVine in from Chicago, reuniting him in the backcourt with DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan is coming off a 37-point performance on Monday.
Sacramento faces its own backcourt uncertainty after losing Malik Monk early in the win at Detroit. Monk was ruled out of Wednesday's game due to left calf soreness, and ESPN reported he will be re-evaluated in two weeks because of the calf strain.
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