DNVR Player Grades: back from the dead—Beasley returns to spotlight just in time

You know the formula. The Denver Nuggets played a game on national television and their opponents, the Golden State Warriors, brought with them the league’s worst record—this is Denver’s perfect storm. The Nuggets were bound to struggle, but that de-facto handicap wasn’t enough to brace us for the children’s soccer game that ensued. Any win is a good win without three starters, even a 134-131 overtime win over the worst team in basketball. But this did not look pretty.

With Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Paul Millsap unavailable, Michael Malone started Monte Morris, Torrey Craig, and Jerami Grant alongside the starers. That latter pairing has already proved disastrous for the spacing and flow of the half-court offense, but Malone opted for the defensively oriented lineup. Predictably, the Nuggets came out flat, and a spunky but woeful Warriors squad turned the chaos up to eleven. Nikola Jokić struggled to navigate the clunky offense and countless double-teams. Visible frustration stemming from multiple no-calls nearly derailed his night. Denver was dead in the water.

At the half, the Nuggets were shooting 30% from the field, turned possession over nine times, and trailed by 17. Denver’s masterplan of completely phoning in 2/3 of the game only to turn it on late was in full effect.

The second half featured some lineup adjustments, including a lot of Malik Beasley and Michael Porter Jr., and the return of the Jokić-Mason Plumlee pairing. These adjustments and the players comprising them saved the game.

Denver whittled a 19-point deficit down to two with time winding down. At the 0:10.8 mark, coming out of a timeout, the Nuggets found Nikola Jokić on the left side of the floor. He went right to work and opted not to dip into his bag of tricks. He went with a pure backdown and lay-in to the tie the game instead. Too easy.

The Nuggets held on in overtime and escaped San Francisco with their second win of a back-to-back.

Let’s go to the grades:

Honor Roll

Malik Beasley – A

Welcome back, Malik Beasley. The self-titled ‘Mutant’ put on an equal-parts exhilarating and heartbreaking performance, throwing us back to the sweet-spot of this core’s development, including Beasley’s myriad contributions to the newfound success in Denver. There’s more than one path to his exit, and the deadline looms large, but on Thursday night, he reminded us of how much he still has to contribute.

Beasley scored 27 points on 9-0f-16 from the field and 5-of-10 from deep. He grabbed four rebounds and picked up three steals, but an impressive line still seems to sell him short. He was one of four Nuggets that looked like they wanted to win this game. They don’t win it without him.

Will Barton III – A

Without either starting guard, Barton III had to be better than he’s been for a few weeks now if Denver were to win. His shooting is trending down, and his decision making has wavered as a result. But Barton III busted the slump with 11 points in the first half and kept Denver’s heads above water as the ship all but sank early. In the final 24 minutes, he poured in 21 points, hitting five of his ten shots, and recorded five assists. He was the best Nugget from start to finish—over the course of 43 minutes on the court–and alleviated some concern over his three-point shot with a 7-of-10 shooting performance.

Mason Plumlee – A

The double-big lineup returned as Mason Plumlee closed the game alongside Nikola Jokić. Malone opted for Plumlee’s ability to shore up the defensive rebounding over Grant’s theoretical spacing, but the opportunity was also well earned. Plumlee was outstanding from start to finish. He scored 15 efficient points, including 7-of-10 from the free throw line, grabbed 14—seven on each end of the floor —and picked up a couple of assists.

Michael Porter Jr. – A

Let your minds wander. How could you not? MPJ has arrived, and it changes everything for the Denver Nuggets. As impressive as the young core looked in their 14-game playoff debuts, it’s growing increasingly clear that the Nuggets require another piece to jump from the ‘best of the rest’ to the among the very best, period. Free agents don’t sign in Denver. Trades inherently come with a cost. The Nuggets were probably headed where many great teams have been before—somewhere short of weaving their names into basketball history. But everything has changed since Malone took the leash off an absolute animal on the court.

Porter Jr. put up 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in his 29 minutes. He was scintillating in the second-half, and Malone turned to him to close the game, which paid off. When Porter Jr. is in rhythm, he’s essentially unguardable—but his opponents still have to try. His inclusion with the starters opened everything up for Jokić, as Denver’s engine coughed, sputtered, and eventually roared back to life.

Denver has its next star.

The Class

Nikola Jokić – B

The Craig-Grant pairing contains Jokić’s greatness, and the effect it has on the offense grates his composure. He turned the ball over nine times as he worked too hard to make something happen in place of a healthy offense, and lost his cool with the officiating again—although it’s worth noting that A.) Jokić has a point on how he’s officiated, and B.) Scott Foster is the one who gave him a technical. I don’t particularly appreciate that I know who Scott Foster is. I shouldn’t know who Scott Foster is. But Scott Foster works very hard to make sure we all know when he’s officiating a game. I digress. 

Despite the slow start, Jokić was great when it counted—evergreen—including another clutch bucket in the final seconds of regulation.

Say it with me—the Nuggets don’t need a closer. 

Principal’s Office

Jerami Grant – D

It might work out for Jerami Grant in Denver, but it’s not working out for Jerami Grant in Denver so far. He put up just six points on 3-of-9 from the field in 27 minutes of action. He also recorded four rebounds, which, unfortunately, is kind of a high mark for him. His on-ball defensive impact was on full display as he guarded Kawhi Leonard in Denver’s recent win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Still, he’s not a high-impact weak side defender, and his inability to hold down the fort on the defensive glass led to a lineup change down the stretch on Thursday night. Grant needs more time to decompress from sharing the court with Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City and learn how to reap the benefits of a frontcourt pairing with Jokić. But the clock is running.