Grades: Michael Porter Jr. leads Denver Nuggets to win over Charlotte Hornets

The Denver Nuggets just wanted to stay healthy. They were one win away from clinching home court when they tipped off in Charlotte Tuesday night, but the top priority was health — especially considering the lack of incentive to chase down the third seed. Yet the Nuggets won all the same, in large part thanks to Michael Porter Jr.’s 30 points. The seeding is another discussion for another time. At the moment, Denver still sits in fourth after securing multiple victories in one night. They took the game, and all remaining players walked off the court unscathed in the late-season formality.

Let’s go to the grades:

Nikola Jokić – A

Jokić set a career-high in both free throws attempted and free throws made. He finished 16/17 from the line on his way to 30 points on just 16 shots. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. He appeared visibly frustrated with Denver’s play on more than one occasion, possibly stemming from his teammates’ inability to hold the massive early lead built by the starters. But the frustration never boiled over.

Will the Nuggets rest Jokić going forward? It’s an ongoing discussion, Michael Malone told the media. Jokić’s goal is to play every game, but Denver’s goal is to avoid further injuries.

Michael Porter Jr. – A

Michael Porter Jr. scored 16 points in the first quarter alone. He did it on 6/8 from the field and 4/5 from deep in 10:38. We’ve seen plenty of ‘Porter Quarters’ before, but he’s not yet a player who can stay hot for long stretches. We’re a bit spoiled in this regard by the Jamal Murray experience. Few players can stay hot for nearly an entire game. Still, one step in Porter’s growth, and one of the next steps for this coaching staff, is figuring out ways to keep him involved once his out-of-body experiences conclude. Both parties did a decent job in that regard Tuesday night. He returned to the physical plane but finished with 30 total points.

Are we already taking Porter for granted? I ask myself that question every time he plays now, and the answer comes pretty quickly: we are, and it will be virtually impossible to avoid it going forward. It’s Showtime, Baby.

Aaron Gordon – B+

Fresh off some precautionary rest via Malone’s decision, Gordon looked pretty spry. We’ve seen few dunks since the trade, and he’s struggled to turn corners on even some of the slower-footed defenders. It’s all looked so grueling from him. He is eliciting as much wincing as he is “oohs” and “ahs” so far in Denver. Not so much Tuesday night, though.

Gordon made a difficult dunk look effortless and looked more comfortable on his feet as he blew by different defenders with relative ease. He also scored efficiently — Gordon finished with 17 points on 8/14 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. That’s a great line from him. He found ways to stay useful beyond spotting up and praying the jumper falls.

Facundo Campazzo – B-

Campazzo could not knock down his shots. If he knocks them down, he walks away with another 10+ points, 5+ assists, multiple steal game. He didn’t knock them down, though, and he turned it over one too many times.

I’ve spent too much time on the criticism. Denver won, and Facu produced the following highlight:

"Look at the spin he put on that 🏀!"

Facu Campazzo doing his thing. pic.twitter.com/bmerHnBLs6

— NBA (@NBA) May 11, 2021

All is well.

Austin Rivers – C+

Rivers is floating back to earth after soaring against the New York Knicks. That type of production shouldn’t be the bar, though, and Rivers did a solid job guarding LaMelo Ball in Charlotte.

Monte Morris – BACK

Morris returned to the lineup Tuesday with 10:18 off the bench. He only played in the first half — by design — and didn’t play very well. But he’s understandably rusty. Welcome back, Mr. Nugget.

JaMychal Green – C

While it was nice to see Morris back out there, watching the second unit was anything but during that first stint. Malone turned to an all-bench lineup featuring Morris – Shaq Harrison – Vlatko Čančar – Green – Paul Millsap, and they failed miserably. Malone adjusted and threw Porter out there in the second half, and the Green + Millsap pairing looked much better. Nonetheless, the bench struggled.

Paul Millsap – C-

Millsap turned it over three times and struggled to rebound.

Shaq Harrison – C-

Shaq’s minutes went just how you’d expect them to go in an all-bench lineup featuring Vlatko.

Vlatko Čančar – D

I quite like Vlatko but am unsure where the value lies in these minutes. Denver is comfortable losing right now, and Čančar is a ‘break in case of emergency’ Big at best. Why not try Bol Bol? There’s more to discover about the roster when taking that route.

Markus Howard – Played

Howard caught three additional non-garbage time minutes Tuesday night. He recorded one steal and one turnover.