DNVR Player Grades: Nuggets can't be bothered

The last time the Golden State Warriors were in Pepsi Center was January 15, 2019. Denver led Golden State narrowly in the Western Conference standings, and the Nuggets found themselves in a battle for the one-seed. The Warriors treated it like a statement game and only needed 12 minutes to get their message across. After the first quarter, they led the Nuggets 51-38. They finished the game with 142 points, shot 60% from the floor, and 54% from deep. I’ve never seen anything like it.

The Warriors looked a little different back then. None of their five starters from that blowout were active or on the team when Golden State returned on Tuesday night. The former most-feared team on earth now sits in the cellar of the league standings—the number one overall pick in the draft within reach. And yet, the result was arguably just as embarrassing. Despite leading by 15 in the third quarter, the Nuggets fell 116-100 to a roster full of guys that we all needed to google.

Nikola Jokić missed several shots in the opening minutes, setting the tone for an uninspiring first quarter. The Nuggets trailed by one at the start of the second but slowly began to press their foot down on the pedal. The defense ratcheted up, and it looked as though they might kick it into gear in the second half.

The win looked well in hand as the Nuggets pushed their lead to its game-high in the third. But the defense evaporated, and avoidable turnovers exacerbated an already desperate state of affairs on offense.

Golden State showed zone, and Denver could neither “shoot the zone” or “drive the zone,” which Michael Malone has identified as the keys to exploiting that scheme in the past. The Nuggets were 3/20 from three-point range on the night, and they failed to take advantage of what should have been a severe advantage in the paint.

Another day, another loss to a sub-.500 team.

Let’s go to the grades:

Honor Roll

The Class

Mason Plumlee – B+

Plumlee might have been the best Nugget on the floor. In 13 minutes, he put up 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, grabbed 9 rebounds including four on the offensive end, and recorded two assists. He played his ass off and probably deserves a better grade, but handing out an A feels wrong after a loss like that. Consider it a failed group project.

Paul Millsap – B+

Millsap returned to the starting lineup and played well in 25 minutes on the floor. He put up 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists on 6-of-9 shooting. Millsap raises the floor of virtually any basketball team on the planet, but he’s not going to win many games single-handedly at this stage of his career. He couldn’t lift his team out of the mud on this occasion.

Nikola Jokić – B-

Sixteen points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists are nothing to scoff at. No guard or wing could hit a jump shot all night, and we know how difficult that makes life for Denver’s best player. He has all the tools to exploit extra attention, but he can’t hit shots for his teammates, and he doesn’t always take enough of his own. Jokić has more than carried his share of the load this season, and he didn’t get any help in this loss. But he’s set the bar for himself at All-Universe. He didn’t clear it.

Will Barton III – C+

Barton III dropped 18 points and 5 rebounds on 44% from the field. Pretty good. But he was 1-of-9 from deep and posted a 0/2 AST/TOV ratio. Not great. Barton is a gamer, but he looks like he’s running on fumes.

Principal’s Office

Michael Porter Jr. – D+

Porter Jr. got his minutes, but couldn’t take advantage. He was 1-6 from the field and didn’t have much else to offer besides wayward jump shots. He wasn’t playing winning basketball. And he wasn’t alone.

Jamal Murray – D+

Murray put out a tweet shortly after the loss, saying, “put it on me.” He struggled on both ends and shot a ghastly 3-of-14 from the floor. To put it on him entirely would put most of the team off the hook, but he played a poor game.

Gary Harris – D+

Malik Beasley was 4-of-5 from deep and dropped 28 points in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night.

Harris scored 8 points and didn’t take a single three-point shot.

Jerami Grant – D+

Grant scored 3 points in 22 minutes. That pretty much sums it up.

Monte Morris – D+

Morris appeared alongside Murray for stretches, but neither guard was useful in their role. Only 4 points and 2 assists for Morris in 22 minutes — a poor performance. Add it to the list.