Denver Nuggets expect the Michael Malone firing to spark a massive playoff run.

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone during the second quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Ball Arena.

The NBA world is shaken after the shocking news that Michael Malone has been fired by the Denver Nuggets.

Mere hours after the decision, doubts are ringing across the league but Nuggets owners believe the locker room changes can spark a massive revival heading into the playoffs.

“Sources say ownership felt like the team needed a jolt in hopes of still making a run and that vibes had not been good,” wrote ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.

“There was an expectation things were likely to change with either Malone and/or Booth after season due to what sources described as a ‘cold war’ between the two.”

NBA teams can often resort to making big moves before the playoffs to rally the team together.

For a team like the Nuggets, who wanted to make the most of Nikola Jokic’s greatness, they felt a change in strategy was necessary after a particularly brutal part of the schedule. Letting go of Malone, however, was a move that nobody saw coming.

It’s unprecedented for the coach of a top-four seed in the West to be fired this close to the playoffs. Malone, 53, was one of the NBA’s longest-tenured coaches, having been on the job since 2015. He helped develop Nikola Jokic into a top player in the game and led the franchise to its first championship in 2023.

There were few signs that Malone was on his way out of Denver but they ultimately lost faith that he could bring out the best in their roster. Now, they will move forward with David Adelman to guide them through the upcoming postseason.

Reeling Nuggets cling to hope they can straighten themselves out this week with the playoffs looming | AP News

“Ownership will get a look at David Adelman now at the end of the regular season and what it hopes will be a postseason run,” wrote Ohm. “Adelman is a well-regarded coach who has been on other teams’ radar for a head coaching job.”

The Nuggets were experiencing turmoil from the inside after watching key role-players (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown) leave for nothing in return. The departure of these veterans put more pressure on the young supporting cast but they were never able to fill the void.

As a result, the Nuggets have been wildly inconsistent this season and their current trajectory is in free-fall down the standings. After Sunday night’s defeat to the Indiana Pacers, the Nuggets are now losers of four straight games and are in danger of falling out of the top six.

It will take a massive group effort for the Nuggets to bounce back from this chaotic stretch of the season but something needs to be done if they want to hold their place in the standings.

Nuggets Shockingly Fire Coach Michael Malone With Three Games Remaining

With Nikola Jokic leading the way (30.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game on 57.7% shooting), the Nuggets have a chance to win any match-up in the West.

Without Malone, however, the Nuggets will need some time to adjust — but there’s hardly any time left. Currently, there are only three games in the regular season and the Nuggets will likely need to win all three to avoid falling behind the Clippers, Warriors, Timberwolves, or Grizzlies in the standings.

Only time will tell if David Adelman is the right man for the job but he certainly has big shoes to fill after following the most successful coach in Nuggets history.