Nuggets-Pelicans Grades: A second half to forget

In a high-scoring affair against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Denver Nuggets couldn’t match the Pelicans’ bigs in the second half, falling 125-115. Here’s how every Nuggets player fared:

We grade every performance from the Nuggets with our Dynamic Player Rating (DPR) grades, which take into account 12 different statistical factors.

Nikola Jokic (B) 71.01 — Jokic was incredibly efficient offensively, scoring 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting within the arc, adding eight assists and 10 boards to only one turnover. His defensive rating of 123 and -11 plus-minus rating both hurt his grade. He seemed poised for a huge outing but was slowed down after falling late in the first half, never quite looking the same.

Gary Harris (B) 73.46 — Harris put up 24 points on an incredibly efficient 75-percent TS%. That made him the only starter to have a positive plus-minus of +1 in a box score-stuffing outing with four assists, five boards, a steal, and a block.

He was scorching hot from three, making six of his nine attempts and was a reliable force on offense scoring his second-highest ORtg of the year. What killed him was his worst defensive rating of the season – 124 – way higher than his season average of 109.

Jamal Murray (C-) 52.27 — Murray had six assists but his shot just wasn’t falling, as he posted a poor 28-percent from the field and had his lowest GmSc of the month of November. With a high USG%, he just wasn’t efficient enough in this one.

Paul Millsap (D+) 46.69 — Millsap had an ugly outing, getting outplayed by the Pelicans’ bigs leading to his worst DRtg of the year. Offensively he might have been even worse, with an eFG% below 40 and an ORtg under 100.

Juancho Hernangomez (B-) 66.44 — Juancho keeps on excelling since being moved to the starting lineup with his second consecutive 20 point outing and his first double-double of the season. He shot it well from three and posting a 77-percent TS%.

What killed him were his four turnovers, and he played a bit hesitant at times. His defensive impact was nothing to write home about with a -12 plus-minus on the night.

Monte Morris (C+) 62.88 — Morris keeps on showing an incredibly efficient offensive game, scoring 13 on an unbelievable 92-percent TS%. He contributed five assists and three boards as well, though he had a season-high TOV% and posted one of his three worst DRtg.

Mason Plumlee (C-) 52.95 — Playing a season-low 12 minutes, Plumlee had a quiet game, struggling with foul trouble. He did have three steals, five boards, a block, and one of the better DRtg’s of the game, which salvaged his grade.

It’s a shame he couldn’t have played more because the Nugs could’ve used more help stopping the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis and Julius Randle.

Trey Lyles (D+) 45.99 — Lyles did not play his best with a -0.2 GmSC, his second-worst of the year on a seven-point performance off of a 35-percent TS%. His ORtg was also his second-worst of 2018 and his 127 DRtg was one of the worst on the team as he had a  -7 plus-minus. An outing worth forgetting.

Malik Beasley (D) 42.79 — In only 13 minutes, Beasly had a hard time making an impact with a -3 plus-minus in a four-point game where he contributed two rebounds. His struggles shooting beyond the arc hurt Denver as they tried to keep pace with New Orleans’ hot offense.