The Denver Nuggets are now putting the recent events behind them as their goal of a strong season finish continues.
Rattled by the franchise leadership’s firings of both Michael Malone and Calvin Booth, the Denver Nuggets were able to regroup and secure a much needed win under the guidance of David Adelman.
Returning to the court for the first time since the dismissals, the Nuggets came out strong and resilient on the road, delivering a 124-116 victory against the Sacramento Kings on April 9.
Bouncing back from a four-game losing skid, reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic continued his string of outstanding games to lead the Nuggets once again, finishing with another triple-double performance of 20 points, 12 boards, and 11 assists.
Alongside the stellar production of Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon, an intriguing player stepped up in the team’s first-ever game without Malone.
As details of the Nuggets decision unfolded, Jalen Pickett unexpectedly found himself stuck in the middle of the chatter.
Amid alleged tensions between Malone and Booth regarding Denver’s roster construction and long-term direction, Pickett reportedly emerged as a topic of disagreement.
According to The Athletic, Booth had strong inclination about giving younger players more playing time over veterans in Denver, and became infuriated when Malone favored Russell Westbrook instead of Pickett from the past couple of weeks.
With Jamal Murray’s absence continuing amid his concerning hamstring recovery, Pickett earned the nod from interim coach David Adelman against the Kings.
The sophomore guard made the most out of this faith offered by Adelman as he poured the best game of his young career, finishing with a career-high 18 points with four assists while shooting 6-of-10 from the field across 31 productive minutes as the team’s starting point man.
The timing was certainly notable, amid the context of the past few days.
Pickett said in his walk-off interview after the game: “With everything that’s been going on, we had to come out and try and get a win, especially coach [David Adelman] trying to get his first win and just get this bad taste out of our mouth.”
This season, Pickett has shown improvement in his numbers. The former second-round pick is averaging 4.3 points and 2.2 assists in 13.6 minutes of 47 games he played, mainly sharing the backup point guard duties with Westbrook
Following his huge display in Sacramento, several Nuggets fans have delivered a social media frenzy.
“Nuggets GM was right. Jalen Pickett needs to play over Westbrook,” one wrote.
“Jalen Pickett, you have officially made me a fan,” added a second.
A third wrote: “I can’t believe I let Malone convince me Jalen Pickett wasn’t a superstar.”
Another noted the intriguing timing, commenting: “Good lord the Jalen Pickett game the day after Malone and Booth get fired is INSANE.”
“Jalen Pickett was the right decision. He’s figuring it out and delivering,” added another.
One excited fans added: “Jalen Pickett >> Russell Westbrook. Give J all the minutes.”
Whatever this season holds for Jalen Pickett, his performance against the Kings adds enough intrigue around his future to suggest he will be given a key role next season.
