Only the strong survive the March Malaise.

The Nuggets are in the thick of it right now, the last several weeks of the regular season leading into the postseason when playoff seeding is jockeyed for and coaches fine tune their rotations in an effort to tally regular season season wins while also deciding who they’ll assign minutes to once the calendar turns to April.

A win is a win at this point in the season — especially on the road — and that’s what the Denver Nuggets got Thursday night defeating the Charlotte Hornets 114-112. After a fairly even first three quarters the Nuggets outscored the Hornets 34-30 in the fourth behind eight points over the final 12 minutes from Nikola Jokic and a game-winning jumper from Jamal Murray with six seconds remaining in regulation.

It wasn’t pretty but Denver will take the result as the Nuggets head north to Cleveland for a Saturday night date with the Cavs.

Still, plenty of concern remains around Denver’s play post-All-Star break. Since the break the Nuggets are 4-3 and sport the third-best offense in the league but also the 27th-ranked defense, the latter of which has been a chief concern of Michael Malone over the last few games. To address his team’s poor play on that end of the floor Malone inserted Torrey Craig, who after the win Denver’s coach called “arguably our best defensive player,” against the Hornet. Craig played in Denver’s win over the Raptors last Sunday but sat in the Nuggets’ loss to the Warriors earlier this week.

Craig had some solid moments on the defensive end Thursday but overall the Nuggets’ defense was still poor, allowing the league’s 29th-ranked offense to tally 112 points and record a 120 Offensive Rating. Craig’s inclusion in the rotation also meant that rookie Michael Porter Jr. did not play in this game. Here’s what Malone said after the game about Porter’s absence from the lineup, via Altitude TV.

“This is a tough one. Obviously Michael didn’t play tonight. It’s nothing that Michael Porter did or did not do. This was a matter of us having the 27th-ranked defense since the All-Star break and arguably our best defensive player was a DNP last game right after helping us beat Toronto with 17 points and great defense on (Pascal) Siakam and (Kyle) Lowry off the bench. So it’s just me trying to find a way to try and insert some defense into the game. I thought Torrey had a good impact. This is not to say that Michael won’t play against Cleveland, he’s just got to stay with us. The reality is this. We were a 54-win team last year and we’re a team that has high aspirations this year. Yes, we want to develop Michael Porter but we also have to find ways to win. And tonight I just went with the group that I thought was going to give us the best chance to win. Mike just has to stay engaged and stay ready and I have no doubt he will.”

Malone’s response was honest, direct and transparent. It’s straight up what he believes, that Craig gives Denver a better chance to win right now than Porter. Some games that may be true, some games it might not be and I do think Malone is being truthful when he says Porter could play against Cleveland and may be a part of the rotation during select games going forward.

But it’s unfortunate that the Nuggets have arrived at this juncture and now seemingly have to chose between Porter or Craig at this point in the season when you can make an argument that both should be a part of the night-to-night rotation. It’s also unfortunate that the rookie who was building so much momentum prior to an ankle injury in February hasn’t been able to get back to the player he was pre-All-Star break when he scored at least 12 points in nine of 10 games and was improving on the defensive end of the floor with every possession. The Nuggets saw that with regular minutes and assured playing time Porter’s confidence grew.

It doesn’t appear, at least judging from Malone’s quote, that Porter will get any consistent playing time going forward and will deployed based on how Denver’s defense is trending, which makes you question if he’ll be able to recapture any of that pre-All-Star break rhythm at all with sporadic minutes. He wasn’t able to under similar circumstances over the first two months of the season and since the All-Star break.

But the Nuggets are still a playoff team in the Western Conference and capable of advancing into the second round even if Porter doesn’t make a substantial impact over the final few weeks of the season. They’re that skilled and talented. You just wonder if Porter is going to be able to stay engaged and give Denver something of significant value when and if his number is called over the next month.

To the grades.

Honor Roll

Monte Morris – A 

Despite Murray’s game-winner, I thought Morris had the best individual performance on Denver’s roster in Charlotte. He was efficient (6-8 shooting from the field) and tallied 15 points off the bench in just 25 minutes of action. The same level of calmness that Jokic brings to the Nuggets’ starters Morris brought to Denver’s second unit Thursday.

Jamal Murray – A-

Murray turned it on the fourth quarter where he scored seven of his team-high 18 including the game-winner, a 12-foot fadeaway off one foot from the left baseline over Cody Martin’s outstretched arm. It was a brilliant shot and not one that any other guard on Denver’s roster may have been able to pull off. Murray’s dagger was exhibit A in his argument as one of the best tough shot-makers in the business. He does get docked for his defense though, which along with most of the Nuggets’ roster was poor in Charlotte.

Will Barton – A-

Barton was solid, finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds. It looked like he had more explosion in this one too after a lot of questions had been raised post-All-Star break about how healthy he actually was.

Nikola Jokic – A-

Jokic was heading towards a rare appearance in The Class but upon further review had what will probably go down as an underrated second half and fourth quarter. First, Denver ran its fourth-quarter offense through and around Jokic, who had a team-high eights points over the final 12 minutes which came via three baskets in the paint and two free-throws. The Nuggets played bully ball with Jokic in the fourth and force fed him in the post. It was basketball at its simplest form. Give it to your big man, let him back down his defender, see if a double comes and make the right basketball play from there.

After examining Jokic’s six turnovers, he was the victim of some bad luck and questionable officiating too. His first turnover came on an errant transition pass. He gets the blame there. His second happened on a questionable offensive foul call on an illegal screen. Then, another turnover after it was ruled that Jokic lost the ball out of bounds after getting slashed across the arms multiple times by Hornets defenders. Jokic then dribbled the ball off of his foot, which was another poor turnover from him, but it didn’t lead to any Charlotte points. On Denver’s ensuing possession Jokic got whistled for another questionable offensive foul. For his sixth turnover, Jokic fired an errant pass but it didn’t lead to a Hornets basket either. He also tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, 11 assists and connected on a clutch screen on Murray’s game-winner which freed

The Class

Gary Harris – B

Harris nearly went 2 of 4 from 3-point range in Charlotte but his foot was on the line on one of his jumpers which was ultimately ruled a two, turning his 50% long-range shooting performance into a 1 of 4 showing. Harris’ defense was pretty average but he was able to secure two steals and got a couple shots to drop around the rim. He still looks hesitant in the half-court but overall his performance as of late on the offensive end of the floor is encouraging. It’s difficult to imagine that he fully gets back to his old offensive ways by season’s end but this version of Harris is much better than what the Nuggets got over the first half of the season.

Torrey Craig – B

Craig did some really good things in Charlotte and provided the best defense on Hornets point guard Devonte Graham out of anyone on Denver’s roster. Craig had a strong offensive night too, tallying nine points on 4 of 6 shooting and also knocked in a 3. He’s now shooting 42% from 3-point range in five games post-All-Star break.

Jerami Grant – B

Grant recording just two rebounds in 28 minutes isn’t going to cut it come playoff time but he did some nice things on the offensive end, slashing to the rim for most of his five baskets which resulted in 11 points. That’s when he’s at his best. Grant also played great defense on Charlotte’s final possession on Terry Rozier, contesting his 3-pointer just enough to force a miss.

Mason Plumlee – B

No one sequence stood out from Plumlee’s night but he was solid, converting around the rim for the most part (3-5 shooting) when he had a chance. He finished with six points, one rebounds and three assists.

Paul Millsap – B-

Put Paul Millsap in a Cryotherapy chamber and don’t let him come out once the playoffs start. The only reason Denver needs him on the floor now is to get its roster accustomed to what its playoff rotation with Millsap will look like, but the Nuggets don’t need to wear him out over the final stretch of the regular season. Millsap played 20 minutes — about as much as he should play per game over the next few weeks — and finished with 11 points and four rebounds.