Grades: Nuggets run into well-oiled machine in Phoenix

Monty Williams should be the NBA’s Coach of the Year, but the regular-season award went to the face of a glamour market renaissance instead. Since the regular season ended, the Knicks looked hopeless in their first-round matchup with the Hawks, and the Suns look like a team well-equipped to make a title run. The Suns don’t make mistakes, and they jam so many actions into seemingly every possession — death by a thousand rotations. That was the theme of Denver’s Game 1 loss in Phoenix Monday night.

The Nuggets grew tired and sloppy in the third quarter, and the Suns ripped off a 16-0 run that flipped the game on its head. The Nuggets never recovered and fell by a score of 122-105.

Let’s go to the grades:

Nikola Jokić – B+

Jokić looked tremendous in the first half, but the wheels fell off after halftime. He missed his jumpers by increasingly distressing margins and looked exhausted as the Suns yanked him around the court like a yo-yo.

Jokic logged more distance on defense last night in 36 MP (1.17 miles) than in any game against POR, sans the 2OT thriller.

Easy to see why with possessions like this, where PHX cascades through actions. DEN may need to rethink overextending his coverages & exposing the corners pic.twitter.com/9x7AWaKDsP

— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) June 8, 2021

We’ve seen this movie before, however. Perhaps it’s more subconscious than a calculation, but Jokić rarely strings two poor games together. He always adjusts. Remember, Portland felt as though they’d found a blueprint for success in Game 1, and that quickly fell apart.

Michael Porter Jr. – B-

The Suns hunted Porter all night long. They ran him through a gauntlet of decisions and screens when off-ball and their star guards ate him alive in isolation. It’s not the sole reason Denver lost, but it was a part of the game plan. Porter scored 15 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. He didn’t look comfortable in the second half and was quiet after a strong start. We received some context for that after the game.

Porter took the court for the second half with a thick wrap around his midsection. Malone told reporters that Porter “tweaked” his back around the end of the second quarter. From there, Malone didn’t like the way Porter was moving and pulled him in the fourth quarter out of precaution. Malone added he “fully expects” Porter to be ready to go in Game 2 for what it’s worth.

Aaron Gordon – A

Malone called Gordon “one of the bright spots” after the loss Monday night. Gordon came out ready to play, particularly on the defensive end, where he was incredible in the first half. How about this defense on Devin Booker?

Gordon missed all three of his looks from deep but scored an efficient 18 points as he attacked the rim confidently. After the game, Gordon agreed with Michael Malone’s assessment that the team played “soft” again. He talked about the rebounding battle and circled that as room for growth in his performance. If you’re looking for a source of hope after a tough start, look no further than Gordon’s impact and approach. He’s going to play a crucial role in this series.

Austin Rivers – C+

In addition to Gordon, Rivers also spent some time guarding Booker, although Denver sent help liberally in that context. Denver forced the ball out of his hands for much of the game, but unlike Portland, Phoenix knew what to do from there. Rivers played a decent game on defense but missed five of his seven shot attempts. He recorded four assists.

Facundo Campazzo – B-

Campazzo played a solid first half, even if that half featured his tentativeness and limitations as a scorer. The Nuggets looked pretty good as a unit in the first two frames. They left some points on the board during their early storm in the first quarter but played a competitive half, and Campazzo’s fingerprints were all over that.

The second half went differently for him. With the game essentially lost in the third quarter, Chris Paul closed it out ruthlessly in the final frame. A lot of that came at Campazzo’s expense. The third-string guard played well. Alas, he was indeed outplayed by one of the best point guards in basketball history.

Monte Morris – D+

Morris provides something that Facu doesn’t, and frankly, virtually no one on this roster does without Jamal Murray and Will Barton. Denver needed his ability to penetrate the defense, or at the very least, just knock down the open shots. Morris could do neither in his 23:11 on the court Monday night. He finished 1/10 from the floor and 0/4 from 3.

JaMychal Green – B+

Green played well again. He recorded a double-double off the bench with 11 rebounds — four OREB — and 10 points on 4/5 shooting. After the game, Green admitted he felt embarrassed by the effort.

“They woke us up, though.”

Paul Millsap – C-

Millsap knocked down his shots, but he didn’t help much in the rebounding battle and made some loud mistakes defensively. Except for one great game in round one, Millsap is struggling this postseason.

Markus Howard – C-

Markus Howard logged nearly nine minutes of playing time off the bench. He did drain a three, but not before conceding four points in two possessions on the other end. Howard is not a good defender.