Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: Nuggets' Focus Has Been 'Tremendous' Ahead of NBA Finals

While they haven't been able to lock in on who their opponent will be in the NBA Finals, nothing has disturbed the Denver Nuggets' level of focus.

Advancing to the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers on May 22, the Nuggets have had the opportunity to kick their feet up, relax and watch how things play out in the Eastern Conference Finals.

But according to players and coaches around the organization, that hasn't been the case at all. If anything, their sense of urgency has only been heightened with the beginning of the Finals just three days away on June 1.

"I'm surprised; our focus is tremendous," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope told reporters. "Even though we had this long period of time off, everybody still has the same mindset. They haven't faded away. Everybody still has the same energy; they're just ready to play. Feeling a little antsy. I am just ready to get out there."

On a relatively young and talented squad, Caldwell-Pope is the only player on Denver's roster with championship experience, having won the title with the Lakers in 2020 in the bubble.

So, he knows better than anybody what the standard has to be if this team is going to do something special.

And coach Michael Malone refuses to let his team slip below that standard.

"I know I speak for everybody in our locker room," he said. "We just can't wait for tonight's game to be over to finally have some clarity. And so when we wake up tomorrow morning, we know who we're playing, we know who we're preparing for and we can kind of turn the page and really focus in on that."

The Nuggets will finally get some of that much-needed clarity Monday night following what could be a historic Game 7 between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.

Boston is on the verge of becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

It wasn't until Monday's practice session that Malone began implementing potential strategies for either possible opponent and is excited to be able to get in some full prep ahead of Thursday's Game 1.

He knows his team will be ready regardless.

"It's definitely been a challenge," Malone said of the extended break. "... All the practices leading into [Sunday's off day] were about us with a real heavy emphasis on conditioning, pace, purpose and just working on all the things that we need to. And then today we started working on things that both Miami and Boston [do] that we need to be prepared for both offensively and defensively.

"The best thing is we're going to finally know who we play, and that gives us Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday morning to get ready for [our opponent in] Game 1. But I give our guys credit, they have been locked in. The energy's been very good."