Jeff Green Calls Out Nuggets' Energy in Heat Loss: 'It's the F--king NBA Finals, Man'

Denver Nuggets forward Jeff Green echoed his head coach's concerns about the team's effort level in Sunday's 111-108 Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals.

Green told reporters, "It's the f--king NBA Finals, man," when lamenting what he thought was a lack of focus:

"Our energy has to be better. We can't come out like we did tonight and expect to win. We have to be better. I think it's all about discipline. We just have to be better disciplined on the ball, off the ball. We have to know our coverages. We have to know what we're doing and what we're supposed to be doing. We have to do a better job of playing without fouling."

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said the same thing in the immediate aftermath of the defeat.

"Let's talk about effort," he told reporters. "This is the NBA Finals. We are talking about effort. That's a huge concern of mine. You guys probably thought I was just making up some storyline after Game 1 when I said we didn't play well. We didn't play well."

Malone noted how Denver came out flat to start each half. The Heat jumped ahead 10-2 to open the game and then erased a six-point deficit within the first three minutes of the third quarter.

One could spin this in a positive direction by arguing the Nuggets stayed within striking distance in the fourth quarter despite not performing at their best. Jamal Murray had an opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds and saw his three-pointer miss the mark.

As Green and Malone said, however, you wouldn't expect a team to suffer from a lack of sharpness at this point of the playoffs. Maybe the problems go deeper than that and the Heat are finding the right adjustments to exploit Denver's weaknesses.

Malone and his staff have a few days to regroup before Game 3 on Wednesday. They'll surely be expecting something different from their players when the action gets underway.