MINNEAPOLIS — The Denver Nuggets broke through and won the NBA championship last year in large part due to being hungrier than every opponent, realizing these opportunities are scant.
They can’t replicate that singular feeling, but what every champion acquires through triumph is almost an arrogance, a stubbornness and an unwillingness to fold under adverse circumstances.
Perhaps it was that championship arrogance that kicked in when the Nuggets jumped on the plane to Minneapolis after dropping two home games in stunning fashion, having to sit in their own funk for four days, repeatedly having their worthiness challenged by their coach and being doubted by the basketball world.