Photo: C. Morgan Engel
The Denver Nuggets have started their vacation earlier than they’d hoped after being eliminated from the NBA Playoffs last night, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in game 7 of their second round series. They had a 20-point lead in the second half but still lost at home and many are calling it a choke-job. Doug Gottlieb comes to their defense reminding us that while they may have lost the game and the series, it wasn’t the pressure that got to them which is a vital component of choking.
Doug Gottlieb: “A choke is when the pressure of the moment is what causes you to perform far below your normal level of success...losing a 20-point lead with 10 minutes to go in the 3rd qtr....was it because of the pressure? I don’t view it as a choke.”