The business I was working for had a problem. A law had changed that required them to shift their model in a direction that looked to close down the business. At that point, their business made over 180 million dollars a year, and employed nearly a hundred people. A sudden demise was going to be painful all around. For many people there, the sky appeared to truly be falling.
But similar to the story the “sky is falling” phrase originated from, the reality ended up being far different. We were able to find ways to tweak the business to satisfy the new rules and still keep the business intact. All it took were a few little tweaks. To that end, the Denver Nuggets did a little healing of their own last night at home against Portland, with a rediscovered touch from distance, wrapping up their night at a tidy 50%.
When your favorite basketball team drooped their fifth in six contests earlier this week, the sky was falling rather loudly for Nuggets Nation. The disappearing offense had flummoxed fans and team alike. Before last night’s win, the last time the Nuggets dropped five out of six seemed as if it must have been years ago, as quickly as they’ve progressed. In reality, last season’s team lost six of seven in November before righting the ship. Denver quickly reeled off a seven-game winning streak to end that slide emphatically, and have one of their best historical seasons.
The season prior, their worst losing streak was four out of five. Five out of six the one before that. Before that… well, you get the idea. The Nuggets squad that made the Western Conference Finals in 2008-09 had a five-of-six losing streak. The WCF squad from 1984-85 lost four of five. A feat they accomplished four times that season.
Last season’s champions, the Toronto Raptors, only lost three of four, but did so three times. The champs of the year prior, the Golden State Warriors not only lost four of five, the also dropped three of four two other times.
Beyond the preponderance of data that shows that nearly every team throughout history goes through a slide or seven during the course of a season, there are decided advantages to finding your stumbling block early in a season, as this same Nuggets squad did last year. Pushing through early adversity gives you time to right the ship and strengthen issues beyond superficial fixes. If the Nuggets have several slides of this sort over the season, the reasons for concern will become more tangible for a team holding tight to Mile-High aspirations.
Are the recent losses a cause for long term concern? Probably not. The offensive woes have been mystifying, as the players who make up the sputtering squad are nearly the same as the ones who raced their opposition past the 120-point mark a couple scant seasons ago. Their recent woes look to be not so much the byproduct of a wholly broken system, but of a machine that is slightly out of synch, and one that only performs brilliantly when perfectly in synch. Nuggets fans everywhere hope that that refinement is coming sometime soon.
My money is on Denver to figure it out. No, really. As a part of a recent trip to Las Vegas, I bet into the teeth of this recent losing streak and put a wager on the Nuggets to win it all. It’s a bet I’ve placed the last several years now, even knowing the odds are against me. The simple joy of having a bit of hope in my hand is worth the sting my wallet experiences in return. And even if they don’t get themselves over the hump this season, bet on the Nuggets to figure out what’s ailing them in time to avert avoiding another piece of falling sky.
