DNVR Player Grades: the Denver Nuggets gave us hope

There will be no third comeback. The Denver Nuggets fell 117-107 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, and a season to remember finally reaches its conclusion nearly a full year after it started. A ‘Gentlemen’s Sweep’ by the Los Angeles Lakers is an unceremonious exit for a team that captured Denver’s hearts, the national audience’s respect, and the team’s first WCF appearance since 2009. The Nuggets will feel they were closer than 4-1 suggests, but the game is the game, and Denver joins the ranks of all those who came close but fell short.

Saturday night’s finale didn’t feel like the start of something special. The Nuggets were in the game until the very end, but Jamal Murray was hobbled with a right knee contusion, and Nikola Jokić was stuck on the bench with foul trouble. It never really came together for them. Alas, they competed to the very end, staying true to their newly solidified identity.

The Nuggets competed, and the Lakers ascended. LeBron James finally delivered the performance we all wondered if he had left in the tank, squashing any hope of a miracle before it grew into something real and dangerous. James scored 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter, pushing a game that was once up for grabs into a double-digit win that seemed silly ever to doubt.

There can only be one champion in the NBA. Only one team and their fan base will taste triumph at the end of this long and grueling gauntlet. But the orange slices taste a little sweeter when such a run came ahead of schedule. There are as many reasons to feel good about the future as ever before in team history. Two 3-1 comebacks and one ascension of Jamal Murray later, the Nuggets belief in themselves and what they can accomplish should be sky-high.

First, the Nuggets lost Game 82. Then it was Game 7. We don’t know if losing the WCF in 5 games will sit in the chamber the way the former losses did, but all signs point to this group staying hungry for more. They’ve accomplished nothing yet, though the path to glory is clear, however long and arduous it may be.

Of course, it had to be the Lakers that ended the run. It had to take the form of fate, and NuggLife locked in their perpetual dance. Even with a potential Golden Age on the horizon, Nuggets fans awoke to see that same Dark Cloud floating overhead this morning. A weathered and tested fan base is tasked once more with smiling through the pain. With taking a deep breath, finding time to recover, and diving headfirst back into a fandom that has yet to pay off as promised.

The 2019-20 Denver Nuggets will live on as long as basketball is enjoyed in the city of Denver. Whether they finish off the job one day or slide back into mediocrity after a brief fling with contending, we’ll remember this group for the joy they spread and the hope that permeated in their wake. They gave us the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in. They allowed us to live fully and loudly as fans. They reminded us why we keep coming back from more.

We’ll skip the grades from Game 5 today, and instead, hand out some report cards for the entire run. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for sharing all season long.

Let’s go to the grades one last time:

Honor Roll

Jamal Murray – A+

Very few players in the league can claim the focus and commitment to improvement over the hiatus that Jamal Murray can. When the sports world stopped turning back in March, Murray hit the lab, adding more than 10 pounds in muscle and refining his approach. We’ll remember the postseason Murray shot the ball like Steph Curry, but that’s not all that comprises his leap. Murray returned a smarter point guard, crispier playmaker, shifter athlete, capable defender, and, most importantly, mentally prepared for what would unfold as an unprecedented grind.

What is your definition of a superstar? Chances are, Murray meets it now. He finishes the 2019-20 playoffs as the only player in NBA postseason history to average at least 25 points and 5 assists per game on 50+ FG% and 45+ 3P%. It will be interesting to see where he ranks among the best players in the game heading into next season. With the playoffs as the ultimate proving grounds, Murray now boasts more impactful peaks than most stars.

This young man did and said all of the right things in the bubble. Angry with the world, he allowed it to motivate him and used his platform to advocate for something better. He grew into not just a superstar, but someone easy to root for and easy for a fan base to embrace. Perhaps the best part about Murray is that we can say definitively that this isn’t enough for him. The Kudos and wholesome tweets about respect don’t motivate him. He wants to deliver the Denver Nuggets their first-ever title. He wants to etch his name into basketball history as one of the all-time greats. And after everything he showed us down in Disney World, I’m not going to doubt him.

Nikola Jokić – A

I believe we’ll spend virtually every postseason in this era of Nuggets basketball, realizing that Jokić is even better than we think. I experienced that again this year, watching him hit the series-clinching shot over the 2x DPOY at his position, then outplaying everyone in a series featuring Jamal Murray and Kawhi Leonard. Everything this team does and hopes to accomplish orbits around his unique greatness and unorthodox approach to the game.

He’s passed every test thrown at him except for the LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and actual centers combination in Los Angeles. He fell short in this series, tough matchup notwithstanding. He was scoreless in two fourth-quarters and couldn’t find a way to lift Denver over the top. It’s a brutally high standard I’m holding him to, but one he set for himself by peaking out as one of the very best players in the league. One can build a championship-caliber team around Jokić. Pair him with this version of Murray? There’s more than one avenue to the promised land.

When you watch Jokić close enough, for long enough, it becomes clear you’re watching one of the greatest players ever to pick up a basketball. That won’t be understood or fully appreciated outside of Denver and Serbia without a title, however. Jokić has arrived as a top-tier player on any stage, but there are still dragons to slay if he’s to transcend into legend.

I can’t wait to watch it play out.

Jerami Grant – A-

The Grant acquisition was lauded in the NBA community and laughed at by some in the local media. The Clippers added Kawhi, the Lakers added Anthony Davis, and the Nuggets added a guy understood to be a quality role player at best. The team improved, but would it be enough to vault them into the Western Conference Finals?

As it turns out, the answer is a resounding yes. That’s precisely how far the Grant acquisition took them, and to get there, they had to go through Kawhi — something that never happens without Grant.

The Nuggets gathered many valuable data points in the postseason, Murray’s greatness chief among them, but Grant’s value not too far behind. As a ‘longboi’ and soft-spoken public persona, he fits right into the Nuggets identity on and off the court. Grant is set for a significant raise this offseason, and retaining him won’t be cheap. The pressure is on ownership now, who must take pride in their product and open the wallet for a team that’s proven they’re good enough to justify it. There are a million ways to make more money when you’re born into millions; hopefully, ownership sees the Denver Nuggets as something more.

Michael Malone – A-

You might be fuming over the handling of MPJ. You might be scratching your head about what he sees in guys like Mason Plumlee and Torrey Craig. But if you find yourself blaming Malone for the team’s shortcomings this Sunday morning, you don’t have much of a leg to stand on. Except for this shortened season, the Nuggets win totals and percentages have improved each year under Malone’s watch. They advanced to the second round for the first time in a decade last season, then followed it up with a WCF appearance. We’ve heaped praise on this team for their refusal to cave and how they play for each other. Malone’s fingerprints are all over that identity.

Results don’t equal infallibility, and Malone is not immune from criticism. Perhaps his biggest test to date is coming regarding Porter and playing time in the 2020-21 season. So long as he plays in a Nuggets uniform, the rookie’s development is paramount to achieving the ultimate goal. Perhaps Malone’s approach will bear fruit in the long run as it has many times before.

The Class

Gary Harris – B-

Harris’ offensive game has all but escaped him, which is genuinely depressing. But the game is played on both sides of the floor, and the Nuggets simply would not have advanced beyond the first round without his defense. In the future, I don’t think the best version of this team includes Harris in the starting lineup, but I know this WCF appearance wasn’t possible without him there either.

Shoutout, Mr. Nugget.

Monte Morris – C+

Morris failed to hit a single three-pointer in his first postseason. What a turnaround in 2019-20 for the Iowa State legend. In the absence of Will Barton III, Denver needed a secondary ball-handler with the ability to knock down an open jumper. He didn’t shoot spectacularly, but he stepped up admirably, and his presence alongside Murray unlocked a lot for the latter.

Michael Porter Jr. – C+

MPJ looked how you might expect a rookie with limited playing time, and a handful of college games under his belt would look in the playoffs — like a deer in headlights. The sky is the limit on his game, as is the limit on the headroom. Even for a rookie, Porter looked especially behind the curve regarding mental preparation and understanding of team basketball. He’s as out of place on offense as he is on defense and has yet to earn the full trust of his best teammates on the court. He is a project, but the reward for seeing it through is a hall of fame caliber basketball player. There is no more giant wild card in the NBA than Michael Porter Jr. in a Denver Nuggets uniform.

Principal’s Office

Paul Millsap – D+

Let’s be clear: the Nuggets don’t turn these corners and don’t sniff their newfound ceiling on defense if they don’t sign Paul Millsap. But they don’t need to re-sign him either. Father Time made his move over the hiatus, and a once-great player is now well over the hill.

Torrey Craig / Mason Plumlee – F

It might be time to move on from the former. It’s undoubtedly time to move on from the latter.

Bonus Grade

Denver Nuggets Fans – A+

We make choices as sports fans. You chose to believe in your team, you decided to embrace your team, and you insisted on celebrating your team. You chose this over what’s always been easier — resignation and submission to misery. Living the NuggLive is something admirable. You all have my admiration.