NEW ORLEANS — No Nikola Jokic? No Zion Williamson? No … anybody? Yeah, this was probably one Michael Malone could afford to miss.
On the precipice of tying the all-time wins record for a Nuggets head coach, Malone stayed in Denver to watch his daughter Bridget’s high school volleyball team compete in the state tournament Friday night. A senior outside hitter at Mountain Vista High School, she’s committed to continue her career in college at North Carolina.
Lead assistant coach David Adelman took on head coaching duties for the Nuggets in New Orleans, where the court was painted blue for their first NBA Cup game.
“I hope he’s watching his daughter play,” Adelman said of Malone. “That’s really cool, and from being a coach’s son and growing up around this, and the things you miss as a dad, really cool that he’s there. That’s something you don’t want to miss. It’s one game. Whatever. That’s really important to her. It’s really important to their family. So I’m glad he’s there.”
Malone is one win away from tying Doug Moe’s franchise record of 432 regular-season wins. After playing the Pelicans, Denver will continue its road trip with a pair of games in Memphis, starting Sunday.
Back in Denver, the state tournament ends with both the semifinals and championship game on Saturday at Denver Coliseum.
“They’re the No. 3 seed, and we’ll see what happens,” Malone said after Thursday’s practice. “But my daughters have been to state, now it would be six years in a row. And as a parent I always love going there. It’s a great environment. And just to be a dad. To support them and watch them with a tremendous amount of pride.”
Malone considers Adelman an NBA head coach in waiting. In the last cycle of coaching changes around the league, Adelman interviewed for openings with the Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, league sources told The Denver Post. When asked what the most difficult aspect is of filling Malone’s shoes for a day, Adelman said: “Nikola’s not here.”
Jokic also didn’t travel with the team and was ruled out Friday due to personal reasons. Yet still, the Pelicans were the more depleted team at Smoothie King Center. They were missing Williamson, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray, Jordan Hawkins and Jose Alvarado.
“I do think what they’re going through right now, we can’t think about that,” Adelman said. “We have to find a way to win a basketball game, whatever that takes. And I feel for Coach (Willie) Green and their staff, but like I said, we kind of have to think about ourselves.”
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