He thought he saw a Garden-door
That opened with a key:
He looked again, and found it was
A Double Rule of Three:
“And all its mystery,” he said,
“Is clear as day to me.”

-Lewis Carroll

Friends, Denverites, Nuggets Nation… lend me your ears. No, really, just for the WKND. Er, weekend. I should have them back to you by Monday, and with a decent rate of interest in return.

While you’d probably quickly worked out that I am not actually after those cartilage flaps on the side of your head, I am admittedly fascinated by all things mathematical, and the “rule of three” or “rule of thirds” is a concept that ends up being used in math, science, architecture, photography, writing, comedy, teaching, the military, and many, many more.

Over the years, experts from each of those disciplines has seen the efficacy in the rule. Storytellers use it widely, as in “Three Blind Mice”, Three Little Pigs”, “Three Wise Men”, and so on. Teachers tend to teach things in triads to have them better stay with their students. The meter of “three things” also tends to resonate better in speeches for long term stickiness. A la, “Friends, Denverites, Nuggets Nation” or any of these you might just be familiar with…

• “Friends, Romans, Countrymen”
• “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
• “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”
• “Blood, sweat, and tears”
• “Location, location, location”
• “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”
• “Faith, Hope, and Charity”
• “Mind, body, spirit”
• “Stop, Look, and Listen”
• “Sex, Lies, and Videotape”
• “Veni, Vidi, Vici”
• “I came, I saw, I conquered”

OK, that first one was simply what I originally cribbed my opening from, and those last two are actually the same, but you get the general idea. The principle runs rampant. One of my kids has spent the last couple years in standup comedy, and she regularly sings the praises of the rule of three in her work, in terms of setup, anticipation, and punchline, or even establishment, affirmation, and diversion. There are literally thousands of examples, but here’s a quick view of that:

Sports are no exclusion to this rule, and threes and thirds are currently a HUGE part of the rest of this season for your Denver Nuggets. Doubt me? Here are a few examples:

Though basketball fandom calls the post-All Star break the “last half” of the year, the Nuggets have exactly 33% of their season left, a third.

That third comprises 27 games, or 3 x 3 x 3. Three to the third power.

The Nuggets two biggest stars, currently, are Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Jokic wears number 15 (a multiple of three) and Murray wears 27. We already covered that last one.

But that duo needs a third, don’t they? Of late, a trio of stars is simply table stakes to get into the NBA Finals. Though the Golden State Warriors actually fielded four All-Stars over their last two seasons, they won as many rings with their super triad as they did when they added their fourth. Who could that third be for Denver? Their needs seem to be a lengthy wing who can score at will, stretch the floor, and keep their opponent honest on D.

It’s too bad the Nuggets don’t have one of those… Excepting that they do, should Michael Porter, Jr. be able to get back onto the floor and continue his meteoric rise. Porter will have those aforementioned 27 games to make his next leap. While that may not sound like much, MPJ has already made huge strides in the scant time he’s been able to play. His shooting, defense, shot selection, and positioning is already vastly improved from his first efforts of this rookie season. How many games has Porter needed to already move that far? 39, or 13 times three. Oh, and Porter’s jersey number? Admittedly, this is a bit of a stretch, but Porter’s #1 is three times 1/3. If Porter can add a legitimate third threat to Denver’s already-punchy attack, they could vault themselves past the trio of teams who are currently favored to win it all.

Three months from now, your Denver Nuggets will either be firmly ensconced in the Western Conference Finals, or back at home licking their wounds. Two seasons ago, they narrowly missed the playoffs. Last year, they leapfrogged that level of expectation by making it seven games into the second round. Should they be able to knock down a bunch of their treys through the home stretch and playoffs, and make a similar leap forward on this third try, these Nuggets should finally get to make the third trip in their history to the Western Conference Finals.

I’m so nutty about it all that the length of this article (837 words) is actually divisible by three. Crazy, you see? Did I miss anything obvious in my tryst for this tricky triad? If so, let me know what it was below. Otherwise, sit back, enjoy a treat or three, and let’s see where this last third of the season takes your Denver Nuggets.