Grades: Denver Nuggets move to 4-0 without Jamal Murray

The Denver Nuggets are now 4-0 since star guard Jamal Murray tore his ACL. The latest win comes on the road over a Portland Trail Blazers team that loaded up for victory. The previously inactive Damian Lillard returned, hoping for one landmark victory that could swing their season. But the Nuggets wouldn’t have it.

Late game heroics from Jokić and some questionable decision-making from Portland left the door open for a 106-105 victory.

Let’s go to the grades:

Nikola Jokić – A-

Jokić turned the ball over four times and only shot 1/6 from deep. Other than that, though, he checked his usual boxes against his former teammate Jusuf Nurkić. Jokić dotted his eye from mid-range twice, found success as a cutter, and even threw down thunderous dunk after an explosion of speed from the top of the key. Jokić also recorded four offensive rebounds — three of which came off his own missed shot, and two of which resulted in immediate second-chance points.

With the game on the line, a hurried Norman Powell saw a lane, put the ball on the floor, and drove to the rim. But Jokić saw him, busted out to seal off the route, and then contest the errant floater. The defensive sieve does it again.

Michael Porter Jr. – B-

What a strange night from Porter we just witnessed. He opened the game unconscious. Playing basketball in a higher plane than anyone on the floor, barely noticing the less enlightened in his way. That may sound like hyperbole, but he went for 17 points and 3 rebounds on 8/8 shooting in the first 11:35 of the game.

Malone rode the hot hand — Porter’s hand — for an extended run and then opted to play five bench players together. Porter cooled off on the bench and wouldn’t score again for the rest of the game. He’d go long stretches without touching the ball even. Denver must find ways to extend his runs and put him in a position to score. He’s far too dangerous a player to be left on the shelf.

Aaron Gordon – B-

Gordon is beginning to take some liberties in this new environment. Without Jamal Murray, they need a little more from everyone, and we saw that manifest in ways both good and bad Wednesday night. Gordon is a talented playmaker and a tough player to match up with physically — even if he has lost a step since entering the league. There’s value to putting more responsibility on his shoulders and weathering the growing pains that come with it. But Gordon needs to ditch the iso post-up opportunities. You can tell he feels comfortable there, but he’s not effective that way. If Gordon cuts those out against Portland, then he turns in a pretty good game on offense. As it were, he shot just 4/11 from the field.

Still, he picked up three assists, two steals and played some stellar defense. Gordon helped Denver win.

Will Barton III – C+

Will went full Barton Wednesday. He tugged on the heartstrings of his supporters and pushed his haters closer to the brink of insanity with a chaotic performance. Ultimately, Barton didn’t score efficiently and turned the ball over four times. That said, he led all third-quarter scorers with 11 and is a big reason Denver didn’t let go of the rope altogether in that frame.

Facundo Campazzo – A-

Campazzo drew the Lillard assignment, and no matter how you slice it, Denver kept Lillard in check. Sure, some of that was the Nuggets sending two to the ball, selling out to get the ball out of his hands entirely, and other guys stepping up — like Shaq Harrison. But Facu was the primary defender, and Dame didn’t play that well.

Lillard tried several of his signature ill-advised bombs from deep and missed. Now maybe that’s just shot luck. I suppose it’s hard to argue that Facu altered those shots with his closeouts, of all people. But the bottom line is Campazzo contained Lillard to tough shots.

Campazzo played a great game all around. He knocked down four of his five attempts from deep, dished out three assists, and somehow managed to pull down five rebounds.

PJ Dozier – C+

Only Dozier’s frantic performance might have topped Barton’s chaotic energy. He could barely buy a bucket despite leading the second unit in shot attempts and never looked comfortable on that end. But he and the rest of the bench did an excellent job of bringing Portland down to their level. Neither team could score much as the two-second units clashed in what looked like a game of basketball played underwater. Dozier played with great energy with defense and on the boards — he finished with seven rebounds — which ultimately led Michael Malone to close with Dozier over Facu.

Dozier did get one shot to fall in the end. A significant one at that. His fourth-quarter step back three gave Denver the lead with 7:44 remaining. It was his only make from deep on the night, and you could practically see the weight lift from his shoulders.

Shaq Harrison – B-

Shaq Harrison comes as advertised. He is indeed a tenacious defender who seems fully aware of how he can positively impact a game. He’s so fun to watch — ludicrously agile and springy like a big cat. I’m buying stock.

JaMychal Green – D+

Green struggled Wednesday night. He only got three shots up and missed them all in his 18:10 on the court. He only grabbed two rebounds as well.

Paul Millsap – C

Millsap only hit three of his nine shots, but someone on that second unit had to try and score. Four of those nine shots were threes — each of which felt like about as high a percentage a look as that group would generate.

Austin Rivers – C+

Rivers took the right approach in his Nuggets debut. Despite that group needing a scorer, he opted not to call his number on night one. Instead, Rivers focused on defense, where he played well. He also knocked down his only three-point attempt of the game. This group could use more of the same from him going forward. If anything, he’s got more room to be aggressive next time out.