Nuggets' Michael Malone: Michael Porter Jr. Comments Should Have Stayed Internal

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone addressed forward Michael Porter Jr.'s recent comments expressing frustration about the team not sharing the ball enough following their Game 4 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last Wednesday (h/t Mike Singer of the Denver Post):

"Obviously, during the playoffs, the last thing you want is any type of distraction," Malone said in part. "And if those frustrations are there for Michael or for anybody, it is much better to keep those conversations internal, in the locker room and amongst ourselves, and that was it."

Porter Jr. scored 15 first-half points but none after halftime in the Game 4 defeat, when he took just two second-half shots and rarely touched the ball.

He said the following postgame:

Denver struggled offensively en route to the 96-85 loss, which put L.A. up three games to one in the best-of-seven series.

Game 5 is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Porter Jr. has been excellent in his last three games against Los Angeles, averaging 14.7 points on 18-of-35 shooting. However, Denver's offense has not gotten much going outside him and Jokic.

Point guard Jamal Murray, who dropped 50 points twice against the Utah Jazz in the first round, has made just 38.2 percent of his shot attempts for 17.8 points per game.

Denver is scoring just 99.8 points per game against L.A. as a team after posting 111.3 on average during the regular season.

Credit goes to the Clippers, who finished fifth in defensive rating this year, for a stellar effort en route to largely shutting the Denver offense down. Having a pair of All-NBA Defensive Team players in Leonard and George certainly helps as well as a deep bench that has proven to be stout on both ends.

However, Denver must overcome those obstacles quickly, as a Clippers win Friday ends the Nuggets' season.