« For me, it’s not the priority, or the second priority, to be very honest. » Mike Malone has the merit of being honest. Obtaining first place in the West, currently occupied by the Wolves, is possible. Like last year, during the title. But not a priority therefore.

« We talked about it with the team today. The positive is that Minnesota is number 1 and we play them three more times. With three games behind us, we have the means to become the number 1 team », Continues the Nuggets coach, whose training will welcome Rudy Gobert’s teammates at the end of March, then at the beginning of April.

« It is clearly achievable. But I don’t want to win this battle and lose a bigger war », continues the coach, who is obviously thinking of a long run in the playoffs by first relying on his starting five, thanks to which he won the title.

« In the playoffs, the rotations tighten up, and you give guys more playing time. So I think having home court advantage in the first round is very, very important. Having a healthy team is very important. And if we are number 1, that will be the icing on the cake. But we are not going to play all our cards to reach it and risk our health to go a very long way in the playoffs », Announces Mike Malone.