Good morning. Let’s basketball.
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The Nuggets should have crumbled.
The Nuggets should have crumbled when the Lakers went on a 19-2 run in the fourth quarter to erase a 20-point deficit and get within a single possession. Denver had six straight turnovers in that stretch, with L.A. scoring in transition on four of them. (L.A. had a turnover on one of the others, and the last was a dead ball turnover — L.A. scored quickly on the other end, but it wasn’t transition.)
This was a major deal because the Lakers continue to struggle to score in the halfcourt. LeBron’s jumper is shaky right now — he was 1/8 from 18 feet or more — and Denver’s defensive intensity is off the charts. The live ball turnovers let Rajon Rondo and LeBron get into transition, where it’s much, much harder to slow down L.A.
The Nuggets should have crumbled, having watched a 20-point fourth quarter lead evaporate as L.A.’s zone flustered them, as Rondo got extra physical with Jamal Murray, as LeBron poked into passing lanes. But they didn’t. They kept at it. They went to the Murray-Jokic pick and roll. They took more care with the ball. They stopped gifting the Lakers transition opportunities, forcing them to earn it straight up in the halfcourt. And they solidified their lead, punctuated by some Murray bombs.
Jerami Grant had an all-time performance, Nikola Jokic was efficient and didn’t force much, Monte Morris was awesome in that distinctly Monte Morris fashion. And when the clock was ticking louder than ever, and the greatest player of his generation was smelling blood, and everything was going wrong and 0-3 was on the horizon, the Nuggets bucked the f—k up and fought back. And won.
Resilience is a skill. It’s something you can learn. If you have children, you can see it in action: a kid faces a tough academic, physical or social challenge, they want to give up, you encourage them to try, to push through, to get a new slant, they succeed and their confidence grows. Just about every player who makes the NBA has resilience. You don’t get to the elite level in your field, as all NBA players are, without fighting through some tough challenges — physical, mental and otherwise.
I’d argue that the Nuggets are an example of learned group resilience. Yes, they were all already individually resilient. But by pressing through immense challenges as a group over their last four playoff series, all of which went to Game 7s, there’s certainly confidence in each other that no one is giving up, no one is backing down no matter the odds. They’ve seen it, they’ve experienced it, they’ve lived it. Everyone on that roster experienced Jamal Murray going nuclear against the Jazz and Nikola Jokic shredding the Clippers. Most of them were around last year for the heartbreak against Portland, and remember the feeling, and want to avoid that at all costs. There’s a trust and a confidence in each other that is learned by trial of fire.
Not every team gets to experience that lesson together. The Clippers, for example, didn’t show lots of trust and confidence in each other as the Nuggets crushed them in three straight close-out fourth quarters. I think it’s clearly an advantage that the Nuggets have in this postseason. Combine it with their excellent talent base and good coaching, and it’s becoming clear why Denver has made it this far and could win it all. If you never give up, how can you lose?
Photo by Getty Images Sport
Scores
Lakers 106, Nuggets 114 (LAL leads 2-1)
Sun 75, Aces 83 (Series tied 1-1) — A’ja Wilson with an absolutely complete game. Truly unstoppable.
Alyssa Thomas may have dislocated her shoulder — she left the game in a sling. Obviously a mammoth injury that could help decide the series.
Lynx 86, Storm 88 (SEA leads 1-0) — So after all of that postponement weirdness, and with Cathy Engelbert announcing hours before tip-off that three Storm players originally had inclusive tests on Sunday and that just one had not had two negative tests come back since then, everyone on the Storm was available and the game went off without a hitch.
Well, the Storm did hit a hitch named Napheesa Freaking Collier, who had a monster game against MVP runner-up Breanna Stewart. I mean, watch this.
But Jewell Loyd was fantastic and the final minute of the game was pure bonkers.
First, an aggressive Loyd drive to put the Storm up two with 30 seconds left.
Then Collier hit Stewart with a smooth up and under to tie it back up.
And then … uh, Sami Whitcomb misses a wild layup in traffic but Alyshia Clark gets the funky putback at the buzzer? Sure!
Schedule
Just one playoff game on Wednesday night: Celtics vs. Heat, Game 4, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Miami leads 2-1. Basketball!
Links
The Bulls have hired Billy Donovan as the team’s next head coach. That’s not the route I would have expected, and Donovan is an enormous departure from Jim Boylen, but it’s an interesting selection. The odds of Chicago trading Zach LaVine for assets and going even younger have dropped precipitously.
Michael Pina talked to Bill Walton about Nikola Jokic. As beautiful as you’d imagine.
More Pina: how Jamal Murray is playing like Steph Curry.
In the New York Times, Scott Cacciola talked to water polo coaches about Jokic’s passing.
On A’ja Wilson’s path from getting benched in college to winning WNBA MVP.
The L.A. County Sheriff decided last week to challenge LeBron to donate six-figures to boost the reward in the search for a suspect in a police ambush shooting that left two deputies injured. The sheriff cited LeBron’s previous statements on police violence in making the absurd, ridiculous challenge. After Game 3, LeBron spoke out against violence of any type and reiterated his views on systemic racism in policing.
In more L.A. County Sheriff news, Vanessa Bryant sued the department because a deputy who had responded to the scene of Kobe and Gigi’s tragic heliocopter crash allegedly took photos of the wreckage and shared them while trying to impress a woman at a bar. The suit also alleges that eight (EIGHT!) sheriff’s deputies at the scene took photos of the dead victims with their personal cell phones.
What’s Candace Parker’s future in L.A.?
David Thorpe asks if LeBron is running out of steam in TrueHoop. ($)
An updated Rolling Stone list of the best 500 albums ever? Sure!
Be excellent to each other.
