Hopefully, the Nuggets learned a hard lesson the last two games
Oct 28, 2021, 8:27 PM
It was an impressive opening night victory. The Nuggets were on the road on to begin the regular season and against the defending Western Conference champions.
There wasn’t a soul I could find picking in the Nuggets to win that night. But they did. They took care of business and did it impressively, 110-98 over the Suns.
Throughout training camp and the preseason, the team spoke about his championship aspirations. They certainly backed it up with that first game.
Next up for the team came a home game, the home opener two nights later, against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are no longer an elite team, but they are never an easy out. But the Nuggets just took care of business again, 102-96
But then came game three, another home affair, this time against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are coming off a season where they went 22-50 and although many experts feel the team will be improved, it still is not far from the NBA basement. This one looks like a layup for the home team.
Nope. A disappointing 99-87 loss.
I know games like this happen. They happen to the best teams in the NBA. And they happen almost on an almost nightly basis. But for the Nuggets, it seems like in the last two years, they have been too many of these kinds of games. The Nuggets are up to their old ways, losing games they should not.
We saw frustration set in with the head coach. Michael Malone even went so far as to use the “S” word, calling his team “soft.”
He was clearly trying to send a message and light a fire under His team. Sadly, his attempt had to come in the third game of the season.
To me, on that night, the Nuggets weren’t as soft as they were simply lacking effort. NBA coaches, up and down the line, will tell you one of the great challenges is getting a team to play hard, with great effort and intensity, every night. When the best teams in the NBA play the worst teams in the NBA, and do it without great effort, they get beat. Just like the Nuggets did against the 22-50 Cavaliers.
Hopefully, it’s an early lesson for a talented Nuggets team. If not a lesson, certainly a reminder.
You don’t play hard, you lose.
