Comment on Smith, Locklear lead wave of new faces at US championships

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A Game 4 doesn’t have near the buzz of a Game 7. That doesn’t matter to the defending NBA champion Nuggets, who spent Friday psyching themselves up for Saturday night’s Game 4 against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. If they win, the Nuggets will sweep the Lakers out of the playoffs on their home court for the second consecutive year and advance to the second round.

Bo Nix’s eyes widened just a little. There will be many of those moments as a rookie in the NFL, but this time it wasn’t a learning experience. It was a chance to talk about something he and his new head coach, Sean Payton, both believe will serve him well in the NFL. His brain and how it works on the football field. “You have to be as efficient as possible,” he said.

As a long-time football coach, Pat Shurmur knows how football coaches operate, which is why the Colorado Buffaloes won’t show much during their annual spring game on Saturday. The weather may not be ideal for the annual Black & Gold scrimmage at Folsom Field (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network), but one thing fans can count on is a lot of vanilla in the play calling. “I don’t have much of a life here, so what I do is I sit at home and I’ve been just flipping through other teams spring games,” said Shurmur, the first-year offensive coordinator of the Buffs.

A few weeks ago, it was hard to find a place for Joel Kiviranta in the eventual Game 1 lineup for the Colorado Avalanche. A few days into this opening-round series with the Winnipeg Jets, it’s hard to see Jared Bednar filling out one without him in it. Kiviranta was probably going to be the 13th forward for the Avs, but a lower-body injury to Jonathan Drouin created an opportunity for him, and he’s taken full advantage.

If past were prologue, the Broncos would be sitting on a goldmine. Of course, that’s not how history works and it’s not how football works, but what’s the harm in a little historical coincidence? Denver on Thursday night drafted Bo Nix with the No. 12 overall pick, making him the sixth quarterback selected and marking the first time six had been taken in the first round since 1983. It just so happens that the 1983 class, led by John Elway at No.

LOS ANGELES — They showered Darvin Ham with boos as the coach was introduced before opening tip. They bombarded him with more pointed chants before time expired in an otherwise lifeless building. “Fire Darvin!” But is this Ham’s fault? D’Angelo Russell’s? The bench’s? All of the above? The Nuggets have infiltrated Los Angeles and sowed instability within an American institution.