Malone: watching Doncic on film is ‘like watching a horror movie’

When Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone goes into the film room to watch highlights of players with so much talent like Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic, it’s a very interesting development to say the least.

“There’s certain guys, as a head coach, when you watch film it’s like watching a horror movie, because you get scared as hell,” Malone said. “How the hell are you going to stop this guy?”

Malone has seen so much film on Doncic that it’s left him practically having nightmares.

“Luka is an MVP candidate for a reason,” Malone said. “The numbers he’s putting up are just remarkable.

“There’s not a weakness in his game offensively, so that’s why I mentioned when you’re playing against a great player you cannot give them a steady diet of one thing. You’ve got to keep them off-balance.”

Easier said than done. That’s why Malone dipped into Doncic’s inner circle to try and find out any little extra nugget he could about the player who picked up his 50^th career triple-double Friday night when he finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists during the Mavs’ 127-99 victory over the Nuggets.

“We have a guy on our team (Vlatko Cancar) who’s played with Luka on the national team for quite a few years,” Malone said. “I had him speak to our guys about some of the things that he’s learned from playing with Luka for years.

“Luka can beat you from the three, he gets to the foul line 11 times a game, he takes smaller guys into the post and dominates them easily. And on top of that he makes every one of his teammates better.”

MALONE A BIG CAMPAZZO FAN: Malone is a big fan of Mavs guard Facundo Campazzo, who started his NBA career with the Nuggets in 2020 at the age of 29.

Campazzo played the past two seasons for the Nuggets before signing a one-year free agent contract with the Mavs this past summer.

“First off, I miss Facu Campazzo,” Malone said. “I miss him as a person, as a man and also as a competitor.

“He helped us win a playoff series (last season). We beat Portland with Facu Campazzo in the starting lineup.”

Doncic and Campazzo were teammates when Real Madrid won the 2018 EuroLeague championship.

“One of the greatest competitors I’ve ever been around,” Malone said, in reference to Campazzo. “(He has a) huge heart, tough, defends, has a flare to his game passing.

“We definitely miss Facu and all he brought to the table, and his family. And I think the Maverick just got a guy that — when called upon — he’s going to be ready, and I have zero doubt that he’s going to help this team win some games this year.”

BRIEFLY: Maxi Kleber missed his second straight game with a low back contusion. “He’s working to get back,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He looks good. His spirit — he’s one of the best. You talk about Maxi being able to stretch the defense, being able to shoot it to give us a second or third opportunity on the offensive glass. He just knows how to play the right way. He’ll turn down some shots to try to get a better shot. When they present themselves he’s got to the right shot. He can’t be selfish and turning down and try to drive or do something that turns into a negative. If it presents itself you got to take it and make or miss. You got to make the right basketball play, not just on defense but on offense. And he’s done that for us this season.”. .There’s one intangible Nuggets coach Michael Malone noticed about the Mavs. “(They’re a) heavy (isolation) team, he said. “Luka Doncic, he averages 18 points a game in (isolations) alone – first in the NBA. Spencer Dinwiddie averages eight points a game in (isolations) — 13^th in the NBA. So, there’s a problem right there. Can you sit down and guard two really creative guys who can get anywhere they want on the court? Can you sit down and guard and also show a crowd behind it? And then the problem behind that is they make 14 threes a night, and they take 40.”. .Malone started discussing Luka Doncic running the offense, then shifted his focused to guard Spencer Dinwiddie. “I think having a guy like Spencer Dinwiddie playing the way he’s playing, to me you have two guys – a lot of teams don’t have one on the floor,” he said. “And they have two on the floor that can get their own shot. From three, on a step-back, they dance with the ball, and they can get to the rim with ease. And I think having multiple guys that can do that makes your offense really, really potent.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice