Denver Nuggets Gift One To New York Knicks

Jamal Murray – C-

Murray turned in a solid first half Wednesday night. He spent a lot of time with the ball in his hands, generating looks for teammates and knocking down an array of impressive shots. Denver’s offense wasn’t inspiring much hope outside of that tough shotmaking, but the tough shots were at least falling.

It got ugly in the second half, particularly in the fourth, when the starting unit combined for a whopping zero points as Denver choked away a winnable game at home—even without Nikola Jokić. A lot of what was working for Murray became a problem. He spent too much time with the ball in his hands, and the tough shotmaking dried up. He looked an unfortunate combination of too tired and too timid when trying to break down bigger defenders after drawing the switch.

The nadir came on the game’s final play—a wasted possession that featured Murray dribbling out the clock and chucking up an airball. He didn’t have it in crunch time.

Michael Porter Jr. – F

Porter knocked down his first 3 of the game and bricked every shot that followed. Even without Jokić, Porter had good looks. He just missed them. That’s rare for MPJ and hardly a cardinal sin. But a significant opportunity devolved into a game he’ll have to reflect on as the missed shots bled into the rest of his performance. He put his head down, grew stagnant, and checked out for long stretches of the game. What worked for him in Chicago was missing back in Denver.

KCP – B-

KCP played a decent game through three quarters, but he was on the floor in the fourth with a chance to dictate the outcome. The starters get docked for that abhorrent stretch. It was a winnable game they let slip through their fingers.

Jeff Green – D+

Green was aggressive enough to get to the line and knock down six free throws. But in about 28 minutes, he grabbed only two rebounds, didn’t log an assist, and had his lunch eaten by Julius Randle. It doesn’t all fall on Uncle Jeff’s shoulders, but Randle finished with a game-high 34 points and 11 rebounds.

DeAndre Jordan – C

Jordan started in place of the back-to-back MVP. He logged 26 minutes, which could have gone much worse for Denver. DAJ was a + 10.

It was a tough go for Jordan defensively, save for his opening block of RJ Barrett—he stuffed that dude in a locker. And he blew two open dunks as well. But he grabbed eight rebounds and avoided being the story. Denver had a winnable game on their hands in the fourth quarter.

Bones Hyland – A-

Bones nearly sat out despite being cleared from health and safety protocols. It’s hard to imagine how tough this watch might’ve been without him. He put on a show off the bench, knocking down 5 of 10 3s and pumping life into the crowd. He grabbed seven rebounds, too, helping to earn closing minutes alongside the starters. He scored 12 in the final quarter while the rest of his teammates combined for seven points.

Zeke Nnaji – B-

No Jokić or AG meant Nnaji finally got his shot. All it took was a mini-outbreak on the team. He struggled mightily in the rebounding department, especially in the first half. But he began to figure it out as the game went on and grabbed one of the key offensive rebounds of the game, which turned into a 3 from Bones. Nnaji also figured into a funky lineup that delivered some of Denver’s best minutes. He scored 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting in roughly 26 minutes. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was what the bench needed.

Bruce Brown – B

Brown never fails to bring the required intensity. He played with his usual ferocity and knocked down some timely threes—a welcome sight after seemingly approaching regression. He’s got a bit of a turnover problem, but that’s mostly a symptom of his willingness to put his head down and make things happen.

Christian Braun & Vlatko Cancar – C+

Both players were a part of the aforementioned funky lineup, playing alongside Zeke, Bones, and Brown. You won’t see it in either of their box scores, but both contributed to the relative success with good defense and high activity levels.