DNVR Player Grades: Jerami Grant is quickly becoming a fan favorite

It wasn’t pretty but the Denver Nuggets found a way to pull out an overtime win over the surprisingly competent Phoenix Suns at Pepsi Center on Friday night. After sinking 18 three-pointers on the road on Wednesday, the Nuggets converted just seven of 28 attempts from behind the arc at home on Friday. With the offense stuck in the mud, the Nuggets turned to their defense, finding sparks off of the bench from both Torrey Craig and Jerami Grant.

Let’s hand out some report cards:

Honor Roll

Nikola Jokić – A-

There was a time not long ago when Nikola Jokic’s brilliance could be disguised behind teammates missing shots or the ball sticking in one players hands or another. Catch the Nuggets on a cold night and Jokic would more or less blend in to the crowd save for a fancy pass here or there. But now that he has ascended into one of the league’s most consistently dominant players, there’s never any mistaking just how in control Jokic is of the moment. Tonight, Jokic passed Michael Jordan on the all-time triple-double list and now sits 11th in NBA history in career triple-doubles. Not bad for a 24-year-old.

Jerami Grant – A

Jokic was the best player on the court tonight but Jerami Grant was the star. His highlight dunk in the first quarter woke up the sellout crowd. His 4th quarter putback dunk put the Nuggets ahead and helped catapult them to the win.  In the locker room after the game, his teammates were debating which highlight was better. And throughout the game, the crowd seemed to embrace him for his energy, hustle, and fun that he injected into the game.

But the real story of the night was the Michael Malone stuck with Grant throughout the 4th quarter and overtime, giving him the nod over Paul Millsap. Whether Grant would close games over Millsap was a major topic of discussion entering the season but it was a bit surprising that it happened just two games into the season. “He just fit in so quick,” Jokic said of his new teammate. “I really like playing with him.” The crowd seemed to love him, too as they rained cheers down on him for his first on-court postgame interview.

Welcome to Denver, JG.

Malik Beasley – A-

Like Grant, Beasley also got the nod from Malone to close out the game in the 4th quarter and overtime. On a night when the team desperately needed someone to knock down shots, Beasley stepped up and delivered 17 points on 7-11 shooting. He almost threw it all away in the closing seconds when he fouled Ricky Rubio at half court, a mistake that sent Rubio to the line for three foul shots and ultimately sent the game into overtime. Nonetheless, Beasley is slowly starting to look like a player the Nuggets can’t afford to lose. Or to keep on the bench.

The Class

Jamal Murray – B+

Murray came alive late in the game, scoring 16 of his 27 points in the 4th quarter and overtime. He missed a pair of free throws over that span but it’s hard to nitpick him after coming up huge when the team needed him most.

Will Barton – B

It’s only been two games but the most encouraging part of Barton’s season thus far has been just how in control he has played. He took just six shots, the fewest of Denver’s starters, and he made just one. But the attempts seems as noteworthy as the makes. The worst version of Barton is the version that forces his will onto the game, rather than playing within the system. Tonight he fit in nicely on the offensive end and showed off how valuable he can be as a defender when he commits to using his size to his advantage. He recorded three blocked shots and one steal and led the team in plus-minus despite sitting (or rather, standing and cheering) on the bench for the final 17 minutes of the game.

Paul Millsap – B-

Like Barton, Millsap watched the final 17 minutes from the sideline as Beasley and Grant closed the game. And also like Barton, he seemed perfectly content with that.

Torrey Craig – C+

Torrey played 26 minutes, did not score a point, and was a team-worst -13 but he still gets a C+ thanks to some terrific defense that culminated with a game-saving blocked shot in the final seconds. He finished the game with four blocked shots en route to limiting Devin Booker to just 18 points on 21 field goal attempts. His shot looked rough in this one but it’s hard to dock a guy too much when he literally saved the game.

Principles Office

Monte Morris – D

For the second game in a row, Morris was used solely to give Murray a quick rest in the first and 3rd quarters. He played just 12 minutes and missed all six shots that he attempted from the field. Through two games, Morris has seemed to struggle with his new, reduced role. It’s a tough break for the young point guard but with Barton and Gary Harris back at full strength, there just aren’t many minutes to go around.