SALT LAKE CITY — Instead of rising to the occasion in their first-round playoff series, the Nuggets have folded when times have gotten tough.
Their “sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t” personality was present all season, but never so evident as in their stumbling play that has them trailing Utah 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is in Utah tonight.
All season, the Nuggets have played hard when they wanted to or when they’ve been forced to. Well, they’re now being forced to, if they have any chance to advance.
This isn’t an elimination game, but it might as well be. Only eight teams in NBA history have overcome a 3-1 series deficit.
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the Nuggets’ play is they realize the enemy, and it doesn’t wear blue and white. It wears powder blue.
“First of all we have to get out of our own heads,” Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. “(In Game 3), I didn’t see it in us. The body language wasn’t there. People didn’t seem focused throughout the game. So as far as X’s and O’s, we know what they’re going to do, they know what we’re going to do. We just have to want it more than them.”
Guard Chauncey Billups agrees.
“When the game was going good, the effort was great. But once they made a run I thought the effort kind of slacked off. It’s probably the main reason why they made the run. It’s unacceptable, and it’s something that hopefully we don’t have a problem with (today).
“That’s not the first time it’s happened this season, but for what’s at stake you just can’t have those lapses.”
But the Nuggets do. Repeatedly. There are offensive lapses and defensive lapses. If they shore up one area, as they did in transition defense in Game 3, another area slips. In Game 1 they had 29 assists and pulled away in the fourth quarter. In Games 2 and 3 they had 34 assists, combined. And lost both games.
Dr. Jeykll, meet Mr. Hyde.
“We have to want to do it,” Anthony said. “If we don’t want to do it, we might as well pack our bags right now and get ready for the game in Denver.”
Acting coach Adrian Dantley admits his team is shaken up. Asked about the mood Saturday, he said: “A little quiet. But I told them, ‘Hey, they’re only up 2-1. They have to win four games (total). We only have to win one game here.’ “
That may be easier said than done against a Utah team that is gaining more and more confidence. Paul Millsap has improved his point total in every game. Wesley Matthews has done the same.
Comparing the two teams, Utah is playing better each game, Denver is playing worse each game. The Nuggets’ offense has gotten markedly worse each game as Utah has cut off favored shots and makes it difficult for Anthony and Billups to break out.
Meanwhile, mistakes and mental errors by the Nuggets are on the rise.
So far, it’s all in a series’ work, say the Jazz, which was all but written off early in the series because of injuries.
“Just because people were saying we weren’t going to win the series, we don’t care,” star point guard Deron Williams said. “We know what we can do as a team.”
Theoretically, the Nuggets are aware of what they can do. But, will they choose to make the effort?
Anthony calls tonight’s game a “must win.” Neither Billups nor Dantley would go that far, but Billups did add it’s “obviously the biggest game of the year for us.”
Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin said: “We know the position we’re in. We’re backed into a corner. I don’t think they put us in a corner; we backed into one. So the only thing to do now is come out fighting.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
3-Pointers
Where are the Nuggets’ heads? This is the only question that matters coming into tonight’s game. The Nuggets have spent all season trying to clear their minds and refocus from one night to the next. Now, either they focus and buckle down to win a game they desperately need to win, or they let doubt dominate. How much does this team want to win?
Defense, anyone? If it’s not one area of the defense that breaks down, it’s another. Even when the Nuggets won Game 1, they had problems stopping the Jazz’s onslaught. The Nuggets need to stick to solid defensive principles and play with an intensity that has been missing throughout most of this series.
Where’s J.R.? Time and again, J.R. Smith follows up big games with bad games, and he has been all but invisible since Game 1. Essentially, he has played just one special quarter of basketball the entire series, the fourth period of Game 1. If the Nuggets are to win, they’re going to need a hefty contribution from Smith tonight. His eight points on 3-of-9 shooting from Game 3 simply will not do.
Slow fade
The Nuggets’ offense has deteriorated over the first three games of the series. A look:
Gm 1 Gm 2 Gm 3
Pts 126 111 93
FG% 57.1 46.7 43.1
Melo/Billups pts 57 49 50
Bench pts 31 20 25
Turnovers 8 17 14
Assists 29 22 12
Pts in the paint 52 56 40
