In the NBA team Denver Nuggets blow-out home games this season, they used their amped up home crowd as a sixth man—a really big, really loud sixth man. With a run-and-gun transition game, pull-up threes, and dunks that shook the backboards, the NBA team Nuggets were able to use big plays at key moments, exciting the Pepsi Center fans enough to rattle opposing teams. But that strategy didn’t do much good for Denver in their Game 3 playoff loss to the NBA team Los Angeles Lakers, who lead the series 2-1.
In Game 3, Denver was playing at home for the first time since eliminating the NBA team Dallas Mavericks on May 13. Instead of grabbing rebounds, taking the easy two over the flashy three, and playing smart on defense Denver just seemed to try too hard to get that big play that would get their crowd into the game. The only result was that the NBA team Nuggets looked outmatched and unprepared against Kobe and Company. Denver shot just 39 percent from the floor—a playoff low—and went a dismal 5-27 from behind the arc. They committed three technical fouls, made poor decisions on both ends of the court, and missed their first nine shots of the fourth quarter.
Sometimes playing to the crowd just doesn’t work—especially if you’re not playing well. If the Denver NBA team wants a chance to get back into this series, they’re going to have to regain some composure and claw their way back in the old fashioned way.
