Breaking Down The Different Stages Of Trying To Become The First Team In NBA History To Come Back From A 3-0 Series Hole

Tim Heitman. Getty Images.

When it comes to coming back and winning a playoff series after falling behind 0-3, 154 teams have tried and 154 teams have failed. Reasonable thought says it's impossible, especially in basketball. But when you're a fan and your favorite team finds itself in this position, it is not a time to be rational. It's a time for hope and belief, even if the entire world thinks you're crazy for it. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't eventually happen, and remember we said the same shit about a 16 seed beating a 1 seed in March Madness and now look. That's not impossible or "never going to happen". The same thing applies here.

As someone who has been in this spot as a fan in multiple sports and has been on both sides of the results coin, nobody understands the 0-3 climb like myself and fellow Boston fans. 

It actually starts well before Game 4 is even played. The entire sports world is going to call you dead and buried. Shit, I did that in the postgame blog after the Mavs went up 3-0. It's the logical thing to do when talking about a 3-0 lead in the NBA playoffs.

But as a Wolves fan? Your first step is to block it all out. Don't even let the thought enter your mind, even for a second. You may think that means absolutely nothing in terms of the future result, but nobody can say for sure. Why risk it? A battle like this requires a level of positivity and belief that makes no goddamn sense unless you're in the fight. You have to be delusional to pull something like this off, and that starts with blocking out all the noise in favor of believing your team can do it.

STAGE 1: GAME 4

Welcome to the "Don't let win us today" stage. It's at this time that everyone's talking sweep, the series is over, Cancun is on the way etc etc. But this is the stage where the belief is most important. 

Even if you're like me and not a huge math guy, everyone knows you can't win 4 before you win 1, and this is really the only time during this journey that you're going to catch your opponent maybe looking ahead. That's just human nature, but it's an important factor in the process. You only have so many openings to make this dream a reality, and Game 4 is without a doubt the best chance you have, mostly because your opponent is definitely thinking the series is over.

As we saw last night, the Wolves were able to take advantage of this stage. They didn't panic, they got back to the type of basketball they played all year which made them one of the best teams in the league, and they got over the hump. It should not be overlooked what finally breaking through and getting that first win can do to the confidence of the entire team in a spot like this. This is where the belief starts to grow.

STAGE 2: GAME 5

Having lived through this type of thing a few times, Game 5 in my opinion is one of the most important stages, especially if you are now playing at home where you now have 2 of the final 3 games in your own building. 

You see, if you win Game 4, the general perception of the series still hasn't really started to shift. Teams with a 3-1 lead are still 273-13 all time (95.5%) and in the Conference Finals, they're 43-3. It's easy to brush off a single loss, especially when the team up 3-1 has already won twice on the road.

For Wolves fans, this is why Game 5 is so important. Once you get past this threshold, things become MUCH more real. Not until that Game 5 win can you even begin to introduce the idea of a potential Game 7, and once you can do that and you bring those nerves/pressure into the equation, things can snowball quickly.

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This is the stage where for the first time in the series, doubt will begin to form. Buttholes start getting tight, especially if the Wolves win that game convincingly. When your team wins this Game 5, your brain starts to go crazy, so you need to be careful. You've made progress, but you still have a LONG way to go.

STAGE 3: GAME 6

Welcome to what I consider the hardest part of the climb. Once you get here as a fan, you're battling a few things. First, you've probably been staying up until all hours of the night watching and injecting every bit of Wolves content into your veins. You are full on drunk on belief and hype to the point where you most likely feel like the Wolves will never lose again. 

Making sure you fight that urge is half the battle, because in reality this is most likely going to be the toughest game of the journey. The Mavs back at home after dropping two straight are effectively playing as though this is their actual Game 7. Now, the Wolves aren't the more overwhelmingly desperate team like in Games 4 & 5. Once that levels out, it becomes a series that gets back to execution. 

The benefit you have in this spot is you've already been living this desperate lifestyle. You were molded by the pressure whereas the Mavs are now the ones who may start to poop their pants a little bit. You never know how a team responds once they start blowing a Game 6 and now everything is VERY real.

Should you win this game, you have now entered RARE air. Few teams to ever find themselves down 3-0 have forced a Game 7, so that alone is a huge milestone. Now, everything that happened prior in the series doesn't matter. Falling down 0-3, the early clutch issues that blew the first few games. It's all erased.

As a fan, this is the stage that might kill you. Especially when it's decided by something like this

STAGE 4: GAME 7

Welcome to the "you will not breathe for 2.5 hours" stage. First and foremost, you have to pray your best player does not get hurt on the very first play of the game. That's key. From there, it's just like any other Game 7. All you can do is leave it up to the Basketball Gods. You're hoping this isn't the game where you're going to shoot 5-32 from three, or turn the ball over 20 times, and that the homecourt advantage actually comes through.

By now, the media narrative will have completely shifted. Now, you're going to be the team everyone picks to win. Once again, you have to do your best to block that out and not let yourself assume the series is over. Trust me. Given you've just watched your favorite team rattle off 3 straight wins, this is by far the hardest part as a fan. You can't help but think you've completed the mission just by forcing a Game 7, but that could not be further from the truth. There will always be a Caleb Martin performance in this type of Game 7.

If things go south and you end up losing this game after getting so close to the NBA Finals, just prepare for your life to be absolute hell. You may already think there's nothing worse than losing a Game 7, well just wait until it happens when you were on the verge of becoming the first team ever to come back from 3-0 and punch your ticket to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, it's going to haunt you for life.

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But if you pull it off like the 2004 Sox did and then go on to win the title? Holy shit. It's sports nirvana. It's life changing. There is not a better feeling in all of sports as a fan, I truly believe that. Of all the titles the city of Boston has won, the 2004 Sox title will always be different. Not just because of the curse it ended, but because of that 3-0 comeback.

So to any Wolves fans reading this blog that are currently in Stage 2, I'm rooting for you. The odds might not be in your favor, but don't worry about that. If they win tomorrow night, allow yourself to really start to believe. People will call you dumb, but fuck 'em. This isn't about what people think. 

This is about making history, and you're only 3 more wins away.