Woody Paige: Nuggets too proud, too good to lose 3 home games in playoff series; here’s how they take Game 7

Timberwolves Nuggets Basketball

”Just find a place to make a stand. Take it easy.”

— The Eagles

“Rocky Mountain Way, couldn’t get much higher”

– Joe Walsh

Once and for All at The Ball.

Welcome to Game 7 heaven!

The Nuggets make a stand at home the Rocky Mountain way and couldn’t get much higher Sunday night. They take it easy.

The Wolves shall be howling at the moon in Waxing Gibbous phase and the referees.

Together the Nuggets are too proud and too good to lose three games in Denver in a playoff series. They will become the sixth Association team to overcome an 0-2 home start.

Here’s how happiness happens:

The Nuggets wear their “5280” black uniforms. They have won 2 of 3 in the jerseys and dropped 2 of 3 in “Mile High City’’ or “Denver’’ unis. Raquel Garcia or Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats should sing the National Anthem.

Scott Foster, who worked Game 4 in the series when the Nuggets won in Minneapolis, would be the appropriate official.

The Nuggets should make certain they are on the court 15 minutes earlier than usual for shooting practice. In the last home game they converted 55 percent of their attempts, but, even more important, 47.4 percent of their three-pointers. In Minnesota for Game 6 they were inaccurate on 69.8 percent of their shots and converted a pathetic 7 of 36 from beyond the arc.

The crowd swollen to 20,000 is among the noisiest in the NBA. But the loyalists must be even louder when they are not seated until the Nuggets’ opening basket. Also, they should still stand as the Nuggets race off to a terrific start of 9-2 (again) and control the entire first quarter. The Nugs can’t wait until the third quarter or down the stretch. Neither team has managed to rally for a victory in the final five minutes.

If Rudy Gobert is defending Nikola Jokic to begin with, The Joker has to attack him immediately to score or force him in early foul trouble.

The Nuggets tried to get Jamal Murray off to a quick beginning in the Debacle Game, but he strained and missed jumpers and was smothered on his drives. His shots must come naturally. Jokic and Murray became the league’s best pick-and-roll, bait-and-switch pair, but Jokic is not setting the screen strong enough often enough in this series. And Murray hasn’t been firm in his cuts. The two must set the tone early. Murray, who declared himself healthy at the Saturday workout, must be Playoff Jamal once more.

Meanwhile, Michael Porter Jr. has been struggling with too many off-balance shots from deep outside when his strength is in the corners and when he has established his feet, or against any smaller defender. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be free frequently and should accept the 15-footers.

Aaron Gordon was the MIN (Most Important Nugget) for three of four games in the gut of the series. But he seems to have fallen in love with his outside shooting after missing only one attempt in Game 5. He has to get inside for the alley-oops from Jokic and cruise the baseline.

The Nuggets must think constantly about Sherwin Williams. He’s not a Wolves’ wing, but a paint company. Dominate within 10 feet, and the Nuggets will score habitually and end up with more offensive rebounds and putbacks than the Timberwolves.

Jokic does not need 45 (the same number the Nuggets were slaughtered by), but a 30-20-10 night would be perfection. If he can produce those points, rebounds and assists, and keep turnovers to a minimum, the Nuggets will win. He must play 45 minutes.

Despite the return of Mike Conley, the Nuggets must go back to double-teaming Anthony Edwards and prevent him from cracking the basket and exposing the seams. His four or five threes won’t beat the Nuggets, but 20 speed drives (and plus-ones) will. The Nuggets’ thee-man reserve unit has to match the Wolves’ bench. And Karl-Anthony Towns must be limited to fewer than 20 points and called for three silly fouls right away.

As Joe Walsh and the Eagles advocated, above all else at 5280, the Nuggets must take it the easy the Rocky Mountain way.


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