Dear Coach Malone

[NuggetsWY]

On his radio show today, Vic Lombardi asked for suggestions on what you could do to be more successful. He was basically saying that you've done a lot and it isn't your fault if players do not play hard. Like you, he quickly throws the players under the bus. So here's my response:

Identify your core and play them 30+ mpg: Jokic, Millsap, Harris, Murray. You've pretty much got that.

Identify your secondary players and play them 20-25 mpg. I will suggest Craig and Beasley because both hustle.

Identify your additional players and play them 15-20 or as needed: Plumlee, Faried, Lyles, Chandler, Barton.

That gives you a 11 man rotation. Allowing for injuries, they should do just fine.

Center: Play Jokic every minute he feels able to play, within reason. He frequently seems tired, but on the rare occasions when he plays 12 minutes or more consecutively, he seems to do just as well as when he plays fewer minutes. Please only play Plumlee at center and give him only minutes Jokic is resting.

PF: Please use Millsap as the focus of the bench. He fits fine with the starters IMO, but Faried has proven to be more effective with Jokic and Lyles seems like he might fit with Jokic or with the bench. (We are still hoping to see Hernangomez, but understand this may be a "wasted year" for him.)

SF: Please, please, please start Craig. We do not need offense at this position, we need defense and he is clearly our best defensive SF, plus he hustles and his offense isn't terrible. Chandler next to Millsap on the bench would seem to make sense but if Chandler isn't hustling for any game, then use Barton or Jefferson.

SG: Harris starts of course and it would be nice if Beasley saw 10-15 mpg at backup unless he proves unable to meet NBA standards. He has looked good in stretches but inconsistent time makes him questionable.

Barton deserves his own mention simply because he can play two positions (not three). Please use him off the bench at SF or SG as you see fit but if he is not hot, pull him early. Please do not ever play him at PG. In the Philadelphia game, he threw the ball to Plumlee at about 18 feet with 1 second on the play clock. Barton's worst shot is better than Plumlee at 18 feet - it shows his lack of judgment and it isn't the only example we've seen. If Barton is hot, play him until he's ready to drop. He can change a game. When he isn't hot, he changes games too.

PG: Murray should start and be used as a second SG. You need to realize that your best offensive point is Jokic and Murray might do well to stretch some of his minutes to bench time where he would serve as the PG. Please use D.Harris for fewer minutes than you give to Jefferson - he does not play well with Jokic, since he believes he should be the PG. Bring up Morris and give him a shot at some PG minutes. Slide Beasley down and give him some PG minutes - remember that Jokic should have the ball more and more until everybody in the NBA considers him the unicorn-point-center.

Defense has clearly been a problem and a great deal of it has to do with guards trailing over picks or even just watching their man blast past them. Barton and D.Harris are the worst offenders at the latter. Defense is all about hustle (with intelligence). These two seem to look lost and confused on switches and recoveries and just in general when on defense.

Finally, let the offense freeflow around Jokic. Either your plays are terrible or your players aren't very good at running them. If any player is not hustling at either end, yank them out of the game and tell them they can't play unless they hustle. Losing playing time is costly to an NBA player and that is your greatest threat. Losing one or two games to teach them to hustle, will win more games than it will ever lose.

This is just one man's opinion and I am clearly not a proven NBA genius, but I do have some common sense and I also listen to the NBA experts (not just announcers either).

Signed, the biggest Nuggets' fan of Wyoming

[DaFan334]

You may not be able to "coach" effort, but good coaches seem to find ways to "draw" effort out of their players better than Malone. These guys still play for better contracts and some from winning, which are things coaches can control and good coaches are able to. That makes me feel like he will never be a good head coach as long as he feels that way.