Miami Heat: The Denver Nuggets And The Making Of An NBA Rivalry
Miami Heat: The Denver Nuggets And The Making Of An NBA Rivalry
The NFL builds rivalries as well. In pro-football, the entire emphasis of the season is winning the division.
The mantra for teams preparing for drafts and free agency is to “build to beat your division.” Each year, divisional opponents play twice and become roadblocks to a spot in the playoffs.
Winning the division, not only, promises postseason opportunity but the chance at the coveted prize of home-field advantage. For every franchise, beating the teams in your division charts out a course and not just to the playoffs, but potentially the Super Bowl.
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With so much on the line and such familiarity, it is only natural that rivalries spring up. The NFC East eats each other alive, year in and year out.
The NFC West has turned into a bloodbath and for years, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning was a Clash Of The Titans that, likely, determined who represented the AFC, which goes beyond simple divisions but still illustrates the overall concept. That’s just the nature of rivalry, especially in football.
But in basketball, winning games against anyone and everyone determines a spot in the playoffs—nothing more, nothing less. This means rivalries are rarer, like a gem in a cave.
It takes more pressure and more cataclysmic moments to unearth an NBA rivalry. This is what we witnessed on Monday night.