When Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone sat down to his postgame press conference for Saturday’s Game 4 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, he probably didn’t expect to talk about flip-flops.
But that’s exactly what happened, as several Nuggets players were spotted wearing only flip-flops and socks during pregame warmups.
With the Nuggets winning the series against Los Angeles 3-0, the general perception that players were wearing flip-flops to warm up made it seem like Denver was calmly heading into a potential sweep situation. It looked like.
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Michael Porter Jr. of the Denver Nuggets slides to warm up before the first half against the Lakers on April 27, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post)
However, a Nuggets spokesperson told ESPN that there was a mix-up with the insoles of some players’ shoes on the early morning bus to the arena, and the players came onto the court without their regular basketball sneakers. He said he had decided to stand.
“I think the bus with the shoes was the last one,” Nuggets starting forward Michael Porter Jr. said, according to ESPN. “There was a little bit of confusion. So all I had left was the slide. They said either I could skip the warm-up or I’d come into the game with the slide. I knew at the time that people would probably make a big deal of it, but it was only because someone forgot to put their shoes on the correct bus.
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“I’m disappointed. Pregame routines are very important, but everyone makes mistakes. We’re all human. I’m not too angry.”
Denver got off to a slow start in this first round series, but was able to overcome the deficit and emerge victorious.
Peyton Watson of the Denver Nuggets slides to warm up before the first half of a game against the Lakers on April 27, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post)
However, the reigning NBA champions fell short this time, with LeBron James and Co. preserving their season with a 119-108 victory.
“If you want to dig deeper, we lost because for some strange reason our players didn’t have shoes on when they came here for their normal warm-up, and our Because the players were there shooting each other.” Flip-flops, is that ideal? ” Malone said. “But I’m not one to make excuses, and I’m not going to point out why I got my ass kicked in the paint because my shoes weren’t here. Personally, I think that’s within the realm of possibility. ”
The Nuggets have another chance to advance to the playoffs by defeating the Lakers at home in Denver on Monday night. Since it’s a home game, Coach Malone hopes there won’t be any equipment accidents.
Michael Porter Jr. of the Denver Nuggets slides to warm up before the first half against the Lakers on April 27, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post)
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“Hopefully we can figure it out and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
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