Russell Westbrook messed up tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Quite badly. First, he missed a layup that could have sealed the game for the Denver Nuggets. He then fouled Nickeil Alexander-Walker as he lined up a shot from the fastbreak his team got off of Brodie’s missed layup. That foul and the ensuing free throws ended up deciding the game. But following the game coach Michael Malone revealed how he’d sort things out in the Denver locker room.

Nikola Jokic put up a career-high 61 point, triple-double. But even that wasn’t enough as the Nuggets lost the double overtime game. And Michael Malone doesn’t blame Russ for this loss. He made that much clear, and he explained why during the post-game press conference.

“You got a two-on-one break, you know. As a coach, am I up on the sideline yelling ‘Don’t go?’…It’s easy to say that in hindsight because we missed a layup. And They wound up getting three free throws at the end. And that was a deciding, really crucial stretch of the game. but you know, yeah, I’ll address Russ individually, but he’s a pro,” said Malone.

While we don’t know what Malone plans to tell Brodie, the Denver coach didn’t seem to upset with him. So it stands to reason that he won’t be getting reprimanded too severely. But why isn’t the Nuggets’ head coach mad at Brodie? That’s simple.

It’s because Michael Malone doesn’t blame Russell Westbrook for the Timberwolves loss. And here’s who he does blame for a crushing yet narrow loss to Minnesota.

Michael Malone says Nuggets, not just Westbrook, responsible for Timberwolves loss

It would’ve been one thing if Westbrook had conceded a turnover with a minute to go that lost the Denver Nuggets. But conceding three free throws with 0.1 seconds to go? Now that’s something that’s caused almost every Nuggets fan to point a finger at Russ. That’s because the Nuggets’ head coach has a different culprit in mind.

And it’s not a person. No, Michael Malone blames himself and everyone else involved in the loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight. He talked about how Russ would probably blame himself for tonight’s loss before explaining why he shouldn’t. “He’s a competitor. And knowing Russ the way I do, he’s probably gonna put a lot of this on him. But WE lost tonight. The Denver Nuggets, we as a collective group lost a game tonight not one player,” said coach Malone.

So there we have it, Malone actually blames the entire Nuggets locker room, the coaching staff, and himself for the loss. And it makes sense why. After all, basketball is a team sport and a win does not come down solely to the actions of one player. Just ask Nikola Jokic and his 61 points about that.

Even so, Russ won’t be too pleased with himself after what he did. Even if his coach is ready to cut him some slack. It will be interesting to see how the Nuggets come back after a loss like this. Guess we’ll find out tonight when the Nuggets take on the San Antonio Spurs!