What’s going on with the Denver Nuggets right now? They’ve lost 3 of their last 5 games. Now, you may point towards the injuries to their key players as the reason. But a team with title aspirations can’t let a few injuries dictate their fate. Imagine the 2018 Golden State Warriors complaining about all the major injuries they had that season! Curry’s MCL sprain, Durant’s fractured ribs, Thompson’s fractured thumb, and Green’s left knee- all of this looked bad. But did it stop them from winning?

In that vein, following tonight’s loss, coach Michael Malone cautioned his players. But not before making it clear why he thought the Nuggets didn’t come away with the victory tonight.

The Denver Nuggets lost to the Chicago Bulls by 10 points tonight. They led after the first quarter. But the Bulls dropped 38 in the second to get the lead, and they never lost it in the second half. All in all, it was a deflating performance from the Nuggets. And don’t think Malone minced his words when addressing his players after this loss.

“We all should be taking this loss hard. I mean, I hope it’s not just Jamal Murray that’s taking this loss hard. I think there’s a lot of guys in that locker room that are taking this loss hard,” said Malone. He also revealed who was at fault for the loss tonight. Malone said, “I mean, Jamal went out there, competed, been playing at a high level, and they gave him a lot of extra attention. And we needed some other guys just to step up and make some plays, and we just weren’t able to do so tonight. That happens at times.”

A quick look at tonight’s box score proves Malone’s words to be true. The Nuggets’ bench only registered 23 points tonight. And even though they combined for 15 assists, 10 of those were from Russell Westbrook. Brodie was also the only player to drop more than 10 points for the Nuggets off the bench.

In stark contrast, the Chicago Bulls‘ Jalen Smith and Dalen Terry combined for 28 points tonight. This was a key reason behind the Nuggets losing the game tonight.

But it wasn’t the only reason. Here’s what Michael Malone thinks actually lost them the game tonight.

Michael Malone reveals why “dead tired” Denver Nuggets lost to the Chicago Bulls

As we mentioned earlier, the Nuggets actually led the game after the first quarter. But the Chicago Bulls simply outworked Denver in the following quarters to take home a 10-point victory. Coach Malone thought that’s exactly what went wrong for his team tonight.

“I thought we played hard, but we needed to play harder. We gave up 31 points in transition. And that was the whole message all day long against arguably the best running team in the league,” said Malone. “I could tell we were dead tired in that third quarter, fourth quarter….So, yeah, I thought our guys competed. But against that team, you’ve got to compete even harder,” he added.

But Malone is right. Being tired cannot be an excuse for losing for a team that won the NBA title just two years ago. The Nuggets do need to compete harder, as their head coach said. Moreover, they need to do it without having to rely on their stars.

That said, for fans of the Nuggets, at least one thing to look forward to following this tough loss. And that’s the return of the Joker, A.K.A Nikola Jokic. “He’s going to play in Denver, the five-game homestand,” revealed Malone on Sunday.

But his return may plaster over the problems plaguing Denver. So, let’s hope that coach Malone can fix what’s wrong with the Denver Nuggets!