Malone: Jokic can't play all the time, we have to find a way to get through these dog days

Live bar Jan. 24 Nuggets will play the Pistons at home today, and pre-game Nuggets coach Malone was very candid about some of the difficulties the team encountered without Nicolas Jokic on the floor.

Malone: "Unfortunately, you can't let Nikolai play 48 minutes. Maybe I'll do that in the playoffs, and I've tried it before.

He was such a person. We played really well on the bench and then some games Nikolai probably missed four minutes and I'd say 'Hey, big guy, I have to put you back on the pitch!' This already speaks to his greatness and influence. When I was in Cleveland, I used this metaphor before, and it was one thing. We're going to have these coaching sessions and we're going to say ' Oh, we've got to have him and LeBron together because he and LeBron play better.' Of course, he knew. You can look at the no. 2 to no. 17 players on the player list in their entirety: whoever it is, we have to let him play with Nikolai, and he will play better with Nikolai. However, you can only put four players at most, and I think the rules are already very clear.