A Fine Line

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.

– Donald Rumsfeld

Gail Devers came within a hair’s breadth of missing realizing her Olympics dreams of a gold medal. The U.S. sprint specialist had experienced troubling health issues during her training for the 1988 Summer Games. With dizziness, migraines, and more clouding her ability to run, she barely qualified for a single event, and was eliminated before ever making it to medal contention.

After the ’88 games, Devers’ health only worsened. It took until 1990 for her to be diagnosed with Grave’s Disease, for which she would need radioactive therapy. The therapy was saving her life, but also threatening her lifeblood. The treatments were making Devers’ feet swell and blister so painfully, doctors seriously considered amputating them. The cost could have been catastrophic for a woman who had made her world on her feet. Fortunately for Devers, the end of her radiation treatment meant the end of her troubles, and just in time. It would not be the only close call between Gail and her ultimate goal.

Two years later, in the Finals of the Women’s 100m sprint, Devers was one of the heavy favorites to win Gold. In a race that looks as if the entire pack nearly moves as one, there was a photo finish between no less than five of the competitors. Devers won the race by no more than the tilt of her head. The fifth-place finisher was less than a tenth of a second behind her.

The Denver Nuggets have also been walking along the narrow margins of this pint-sized season finish. With key players out, and others finding their rhythm, offense, or defense, there’s been little consistency about the eight games carrying them into the playoffs other than Nikola Jokic. Whether Denver finishes the truncated regular season at 3-5 or 4-4, their playoff position is set, and against the Utah Jazz, an opponent most Nuggets fans see as favorable after sweeping the season series.

Each of the games between the teams was decided by the thinnest of margins as well, with the Nuggets winning all three contests by a combined 11 points, including the 2OT thriller of last weekend. In each of the games, Denver has been missing key starters, including the February 5th “Magnificent Seven” game, in which the Nuggets played seven guys all night, as that was all they had available, and still walked away with their first win in Utah in six seasons. Gutty? Beyond measure. A model for playoff victory? Not unless you plan on giving Vlatko Cancar 16 minutes.

THE SEVEN.#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/ehlIsQ0ebw

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 6, 2020

Heading into the playoffs next week offers more questions than answers for the Nuggets faithful who are hoping for another step toward a title from the talented young squad. Will Gray Harris or Will Barton be available? Is Paul Millsap playing possum until the games have more meaning? Will the defense find its way? How much will the team miss their home court?

Make no mistake, being 3-0 against your playoff opponent is certainly far more desirable than the other way around. The double-overtime thriller against the Jazz six nights ago was a sign of just how small the margin of error is for Denver. After a seven-game series against San Antonio last season, followed by another seven-gamer against Portland, the Nuggets are used to trying to thread the needle that is NBA Playoff basketball. But if they show up to the Utah series as sure of victory as a lot of national pundits and Nuggets Nation seem to be, Denver could easily find themselves on the wrong side of the first round. Even if they live up to expectations and move onto the next round, expect that margin of victory to be a fairly fine line.