Michael Malone wins 29 NBA fanbases' approval with soundbite on Nuggets' 8-game win streak: "Could listen to Moach talk about the Lakers all day"

Longtime Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone has become a popular figure among fans for more than one reason. In addition to his candid way of speaking and ability to tell it like it is, his coaching schemes led Denver to their first championship win in franchise history. As he indicated at the team's championship parade last season, the team has no plans of stopping with one title.

Ahead of the postseason, which will see the Denver Nuggets look to go back-to-back as NBA champions, he opened up on the team's first-round meeting with the Lakers. After his team swept the Lakers in the playoffs last year, Malone knows that the team is out for revenge.

Speaking to media members ahead of the start of the first-round matchup on April 20, Malone made it clear that eight straight wins haven't made his team content. Rather, with the Lakers more motivated than ever to bounce back and snap their losing streak, the team is prepared for a tough series.

"Come Saturday, there are 15 other teams that want what we have. We have the world championship trophy and everybody's trying to take it from us. Last year we didn't have that. ...You win a championship and now comes a very hungry Laker team who is pissed off that we've beaten them eight-straight times."

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Fans were quick to react to the situation, with one fan writing:

"I could listen to Moach talk about the lakers all day" - @lastemperorT (Twitter)

Others seemed to find it interesting that Malone is bringing up the team's eight-game win streak against the Lakers.

"Love how he mentions the Laker's losing streak every single time" - @AlreadySported (Twitter)

"Malone keep bringing up the sweep and 8 in row on purpose" - @PurpoFlo13 (Twitter)

"Damn moach. Taking shots at lebron and the lakers in a sophisticated way." - @aTiFdAwOoD (Twitter)

Despite that, not everyone is convinced that the Nuggets will be able to go back-to-back, with some expressing doubt around the Nuggets chances.

"37-31 playoff record talking like this is insane" - @GrantSawyer7 (Twitter)

"Just a reminder the lakers have the same amount of championships as the nuggets in the last four years as the nuggets do in their entire franchises history." - @Lbjdagoat05 (Twitter)

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Some fans, however, didn't like Malone's use of the term world champs, indicating that Team Germany who won the FIBA World Cup should be considered the world champs.

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"*NBA championship trophy" - @KPragmatik (Twitter)

Looking at the recent meetings between the LA Lakers and Denver Nuggets ahead of 2023-24 NBA Playoffs

As Michael Malone indicated, the LA Lakers have lost eight straight games to his Denver Nuggets, including last year's playoffs. While this stat may make it sound as though the Lakers have little hope heading into the postseason matchup, this particular stat doesn't tell the entire story.

For example, last season when the two teams met on Jan. 9, 2023, the game saw the Denver Nuggets pick up a 122-109 win. In this case, the team was without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, with Russell Westbrook leading the team in scoring off the bench with 25.

At the time, the Lakers roster also hadn't been overhauled prior to the trade deadline, with Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell both still on other teams. This season, when the two teams met on Feb. 8, in their second-most recent meeting, the Lakers entered the game without D'Angelo Russell.

This led to Max Christie starting for the team, and although he has had moments where he's impressed this season, Christie's play hasn't compared to Russell. With a healthy squad heading into the postseason, the hope among LA fans seems to be that the group can make waves in the postseason.

Despite that, the Lakers currently sit as pretty heavy betting underdogs at +310 to win the series on FanDuel compared to the Nuggets status as -420 favorites.