The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. By that definition, the Denver Nuggets are — or were — insane. For the past two seasons, it was frustrating loss after frustrating loss in games that Denver absolutely should have won and it led to the Nuggets missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons by just one measly game.
That is precisely how Denver basketball have been perceived leading up to the 2018-19 season, but that stigma is beginning to fade and at an incredibly rapid pace.
“It’s just how do you react to those situations,”Paul Millsap said when asked about how the Nuggets have matured so quickly. “Are you gonna fold, are you gonna overreact? We stayed poised throughout the moment and good things happened.”
Suddenly, there is a heightened level of urgency coursing through the veins of every single member of the Nuggets roster, the coaching staff and the rest of the organization. No longer will the Nuggets accept mediocrity. Denver knows how great they can be and they are willing to fight for every single win no matter what it takes.
“Our guys believe,” Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone explained in his postgame press conference after Denver’s improbable overtime win in Chicago against the Bulls. “They have a toughness about them. They also understand that we want to be a great team. We’re not always going to be perfect, but if you at least play hard, that’s going to allow you to make plays. Tonight was another example of that.”
To put it simply, Denver is done being the up-and-coming team that is overlooked. They understand that they are as dangerous as almost any squad in the National Basketball Association and they are playing like it. When the going gets tough, Denver has been getting tougher which means that no deficit is unsurmountable for the Nuggets anymore. They truly believe in themselves to overcome the odds at any given point.
“I don’t think there was a doubt. I want to say there was no doubt,” Millsap explained after hitting the game-winning put-back layup. “We know how good we are. If we lock down and play defense and play offense the way we know how, than we were going to win the game.”
The most impressive aspect of the Nuggets maturation is how they are winning these games — not just the fact that wins are stacking up. They are no longer just able to outscore or outshoot teams. Now, Denver has a respectable and determined defense and a never-say-die mindset that makes them mentally impenetrable.
“Just gutting it out, just gutting it out,” Millsap said when asked how Denver is able to win games without scoring massive amounts of points. “Games are not going be pretty. All games are not gonna be pretty. You’re not going to always shoot the lights out, but the magnitude that we are winning games is something special. Especially, with a lot of young guys that learn how to win without making shots.”
The belief within the Nuggets locker room has transcended their lackadaisical approach from years prior. Instead of letting their foot off the gas and losing close games, they are slamming their foot down on the accelerator when they need it most. Malone was so sure that Denver was going to win that he became prophetic in the fourth quarter during a timeout when he told his team exactly how they were going to grind out their sixth victory in seven tries.
“I called a timeout and reminded our guys that opening night in L.A., we were down six or eight and we didn’t panic,” Malone explained. “We’re not going to panic tonight either. We’re going to execute, get baskets on one end and stops on the other, and we’re going to win the game. We were able to do that.”
It was not just Malone who was preaching that kind of confidence. About halfway through the fourth and final quarter, Nuggets’ starting small forward Torrey Craig pulled Jamal Murray and Millsap in and vocalized what everyone was thinking.
“I remember coming out of the timeout in the 4th quarter and I was telling Paul and Jamal that this is the kind of games that we have to win,” Craig told Mile High Sports. “These are the kinds of games that we lost last year. If we want to get over the hump, these are the kinds of games that we have to win. For us to be able to come up with a win is huge.”
That was a turning point in the game for Denver. From that point forward, according to Millsap, the vibe changed.
“I think I heard him say, ‘we can’t lose this game’, and that was just it,” Millsap explained when thinking back on the moment Denver decided they were going to win at all costs. “At that point, I think everybody else is locked in.”
The reason that Malone and Craig believed so whole-heartedly that Denver would bounce back was because the Nuggets have a legitimate star player to rely on. Denver’s charge was led by none other than their franchise cornerstone, Nikola Jokic. Even though he was not assertive in the first three quarters, when he came back in with six minutes remaining in the game Jokic went on a war path that was stimulated by the confidence his teammates had in him.
“Our team just kept telling him shoot the ball. Keep shooting it, keep shooting it,” Millsap explained when reminiscing on Jokic’s incredible finish. “We continued to give him confidence. He got out there. It was unbelievable to see him flip the switch like that, go from struggling to knocking down threes in big moments. He’s a special player, I’m glad to be on his team.”
With six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Jokic returned to the game knowing that it was Denver’s last chance to get back into the matchup. The passive and nonchalant version of Jokic abruptly disappeared and, out of nowhere, he became unstoppable. In those final 11 minutes, Jokic had 11 points on 5-8 shooting, including 2-2 from three-point distance, and had five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks as he helped Denver seal the victory with outstanding defense.
“That is what we need from him,” Torrey Craig explained after the game. “He is that type of player. That is why we pay him the big bucks as they say. Yeah, he came through real clutch.”
After the final buzzer had sounded, the Nuggets roster realized how talented they are. It seems like, finally, they refuse to roll over or, as Malone likes to put it, “let go of the rope.”
There are a lot of eloquent adjectives that can describe Denver’s gutsy victory on Wednesday night, but nothing sums the game up quite as perfectly as the players themselves.
“I think we found a way,” Jokic said
“We’ll take it any way we can get it,” Millsap said
“That was huge for us,” Craig said
