BOSTON – The transformation is methodical. It’s a nightly tug-of-war. If Nuggets coach Michael Malone were talking about his team, he’d call it a process.

But this is his process.

It’s not about being kinder and gentler. Not entirely, anyway. This is more about being consistent, not getting too high with the highs – which, Malone never had an issue with anyway – and not getting too low with the lows. That’s the sweet spot.

Malone has had a few count-to-10 moments already in the first three weeks of the season. But he has counted to 10. And exhaled. And altered his lens to have more patience with the nails-on-the-chalkboard moments and offer additional praise to the satisfying ones.

But this is not just about players.

Malone has already struck endearing chords with fans looking for defiant reinforcement from a team leader that yes, their Nuggets are worth believing in, and, yes, this coach will have his players’ back. He has two instances that will go on his greatest hits. Related Articles November 4, 2016 Now healthy, Nuggets Wilson Chandler searching for a comfort zone

November 3, 2016 Nuggets’ Darrell Arthur back in uniform against the Timberwolves

No. 1 came from training camp about attracting fans to the Pepsi Center: “So now we have to take the next step. Can you be a team that has great culture, competes, plays together, fun to watch – and wins? At the end of the day we have to win games. The challenge is, and I talked to our marketing people, 15,000-17,000 new people coming into the Denver-area per month. Now, when they come here, those people were not raised as Denver Nugget fans. So that’s the challenge: How do we connect with these new people coming in?

“As we met and we talked, to me our team is a microcosm of our city. We’re a young, growing team whose future is really bright. The city is not necessarily young, but it’s growing so fast from everywhere. So that’s what we’re doing. So I like to use that analogy: Come grow with the Nuggets. You’re here now, become a Nuggets fan. This city is going to be a great place to live, and we’re going to be a great team to watch and support for many, many years.”

No. 2 came from after the Nuggets win at Minnesota on Thursday, on his top draft pick in 2016, Jamal Murray, whose shooting stroke betrayed him for the first four games as he went 0-for-16 from the field.

“Again, I don’t judge Jamal Murray just on him making jump shots. I would be doing him a disservice if I did that. I just grabbed him and hugged him and said ‘I don’t care if you go 0-for-8. I really don’t. I know you’re going to make shots. That’s the least of my concerns.’ I can’t let him get down on himself. It’s not fun, we’ve played four games and he hasn’t seen the ball go through the net yet. I have no doubt that’s going to change, and he’s going to be one helluva player for us.”

These were monumental moments disguised as something less than that, something more matter fact at the time. There was never any pressure on him to do so, but these are the buttons Malone needed to push. All of them, on and off the court. What those who continue to read his words, watch him on television or listen to him on the radio over the course of the season will come to realize is though he’s imposed some self-help on himself. Malone’s not being anything but who he has always been.

What’s up: Last week two former teammates, Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, saw each other in person for the first time this season when the teams squared off in Oakland, Calif. It was the best theater of the NBA season.

Background: Kevin Durant leaves Oklahoma City. Russell Westbrook rolls his eyes at the move. Durant comments on how selfless his new team is. Media takes that comment to Westbrook, who rolls his eyes at the words. Neither embraces talking about the other, what they were together and their past and current relationship. Durant said there’s no beef with Westbrook. Westbrook didn’t say that in reverse, but he has never said there was bad blood, either. Still, when the two were on the same court for the first time Thursday, there wasn’t even eye contact, much less any pleasantries or handshakes or chest bumps or dabs. This was once one of the NBA’s most lethal scoring duos when they were both in Thunder uniforms. Maybe they never liked each other that much. Maybe they did, but things were severed when Durant didn’t even call Westbrook to tell him he was skating out of town before Russ found out somewhere else first. Either way, it’s frosty now. And what a melancholy end to a marriage that might have been out of convenience in the first place.

Dempsey’s take: There is constant complaining from the old heads of basketball about how the new generation is too chummy. Well, they’ve got their first real obvious cold relationship. It could be that the two might talk it out and things will be okay, but it sure doesn’t look that way right now. Players taking vacations together, hanging out in clubs together and conspiring to play on the same teams has never bothered me. But this is interesting, too. The Thunder and Warriors have three more matchups, including two in Oklahoma City. And nothing we see in the NBA this year is expected to be colder than the shoulder Thunder fans give their former star when he returns.