Following Denver's 119-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday night, Nuggets coach Mike Malone revealed that star center Nikola Jokic was calling some plays for the team down the stretch. Jokic's play-calling helped Denver outscore L.A. 35-26 in the final frame to walk away with a win.
"Nikola, you can't keep him down for a whole game," Malone said after the game, via ESPN. "The end of the game, him and Jamal were playing a two-man game. I have to [give] credit where credit is due: That was Nikola's call. He said on the bench, let's go to this play. Let me and Jamal play the whole side of the floor, and we'll make the right reads. We milked that down the stretch. Coach Jokic did a great job tonight."
Despite this development, it certainly doesn't sound like Jokic has a future in coaching, as the two-time MVP made it clear that being a coach isn't something he plans to pursue after his playing days are over. "I don't want to be a coach," Jokic said. "That's the worst job on the planet for sure."
"I don't want want to be a coach. I think that's the worst job on the planet for sure." 🤣
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 21, 2023
Jokić had jokes after calling the plays late in 4Q of Game 3
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/wYO7fFoivt
Thanks, in part at least, to Jokic's late-game play-calling, the Nuggets now sit just one win away from the first NBA Finals berth in franchise history, but they are well aware of how difficult it will be to close out a LeBron James-led team in order to advance.
"To be honest, I'm not going to say that I'm scared, but I'm worried," Jokic said of Game 4. "Because they have LeBron [James] on the other side, and he is capable of doing everything. We're going to come here with the same mindset, same focus, and I think that's going to put us in a situation to win a game."
Game 4 between the Nuggets and Lakers is set for Monday night.
