DNVR Player Grades: Nuggets in their comfort zone

If only the Denver Nuggets could play in elimination games every night. With their backs against the wall, Denver delivered a 111-105 win in Game 5, but not without falling behind by 15 points in the third quarter first. It’s more than familiar territory at this point — it’s officially Denver’s comfort zone.

With a 3-1 mountain to climb against a team that might win it all, odds stacked against the Nuggets coming into the game. After the first half of play, a comeback looked even more unlikely. The Nuggets scored just 44 points in 24 minutes. They shot 3/11 from deep, and only 5 of their 17 made field goals followed an assist while they turned it over six times. Only one Nugget, Jamal Murray, was in double figures, and he was 5/15 from the field.

It wasn’t looking good before the game, it wasn’t looking good at half, and it certainly wasn’t looking good when Torrey Craig replaced Gary Harris after some foul trouble in the third. The Nuggets needed a hero — they needed someone, anyone, to step up and keep the ship from sinking. If you didn’t catch the second half, would you believe me if I told you it was Paul Millsap?

Let’s rewind a bit. With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Millsap got tangled with Marcus Morris underneath the basket. Morris threw an elbow then pushed Millsap from behind, before sharing some presumably unkind words. Millsap wasn’t having it and got right in the face of the Clippers’ enforcer. The two made their feelings known before being separated.

First thing I noticed about the Millsap/Morris scrap upon re-watch? How fast Jamal Murray ran to back his guy up. pic.twitter.com/J46q5muKKZ

— Mike Singer (@msinger) September 12, 2020

It was a turning point for Millsap, although he doesn’t quite remember the point at which things turned.

I asked Millsap if anyone spoke up at haltime:

“Honestly, I don’t remember. After that altercation (with Morris) I kind of blacked out.”

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 12, 2020

Millsap responded with a game-high 14 third-quarter points, bailing out Malone’s use of Craig alongside Grant in the same spot of consecutive games. To win those minutes is enormous, and they have Millsap to thank.

The Nuggets defense has looked as bad at times as any in the league since play restarted. Their modest regular-season success on that end is more of a property that arises from extreme effort than it is a quality of the team itself. But I’ve long maintained this group’s opportunistic prowess. They can clamp down for a quarter at a time when they need to, as long as they’ve scored enough to keep a game close. They clamped down hard in the fourth, withstanding the Clippers’ best shot, and turning in an effort that was almost as pleasing to watch as the Utah series was upsetting.

Malone attempted to close with the lineup he’s kept in the garage for most of the season. Murray, Harris, Michael Porter Jr., Jerami Grant, and Nikola Jokić were out there for the most crucial run of the game and looked every bit as good as advertised. Harris eventually fouled out and was replaced by Craig, but this lineup saved the day. Jokić, who struggled by his supreme standard for most of the game, still entered his late-game zone, putting up 11 points on 100% shooting. Murray hit just three shots in the quarter, but all three were from deep, and all three were essential to the comeback.

Jokić was clutch.

Playing drop down 5 in a potential closeout game with 3:40 to go vs. Murray and Jokic with Kawhi Leonard off-ball. Quite a choice. pic.twitter.com/kCq0THMZzf

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 12, 2020

Murray was clutch.

Watch the pressure that Porter and Grant running the floor puts on the defense and how that gets them scrambled for the three. pic.twitter.com/oJQL5hQZ7R

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 12, 2020

The ball popped!

Pick and roll, downhill, draw defense, kick to pop, rotate, drive and kick, extra pass, three.

To coin @Adam_Mares: “Ball is popping.” pic.twitter.com/WivHdDzQZF

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 12, 2020

And with the game on the line, who else did the ball find but Game 4’s Post Game Least Valuable Player? The basketball gods have a sense of humor, and Michael Porter Jr. has unshakable confidence.

Bang.

MPJ came up big time with the three AND the block 💪 pic.twitter.com/nfszUL9OYL

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 12, 2020

Keep the clip rolling past the big shot, and you’ll see the biggest defensive play and rebound of the game as well. Porter was spectacular down the stretch defensively. Not just the block, but the focus and multiple efforts while closing out. The understanding of what the moment required.

Noted defensive sieves Porter and Jokić made a handful of the most critical plays of the game on that end of the court. The former is painfully raw. The latter is strictly limited by his lack of agility. The duo closed out Game 5.

Let’s go to the grades:

Honor Roll

Nikola Jokić – A-

Jokić was off for the better part of Game 5. His typically divine touch eluded him, and his usually accurate mortar shots from deep thudded off the side of the rim and backboard with unsettling force. Jokić was off for the better part of Game 5. But he was on for the best part.

Eleven points on 100% from the field, including two bombs in the fourth, is excellent. It was necessary even, but what he did defensively was just as important. Don’t tell Reggie Miller about this.

I regret to inform the internet of this defensive play from Jokic. pic.twitter.com/wf8jvCQCgZ

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 12, 2020

Jamal Murray – A-

This professor grades on a curve, and having to score against Patrick Beverley, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard calls for a curve. I’ve been critical of Murray in this series, as there’s, of course, plenty of middle ground between what he did against Utah and his nadirs in this series. Tough matchup notwithstanding, Murray has allowed the Clippers into his head a little and holstered the ever-dangerous three-point weapon he used to send the Jazz packing. Murray was just 9/25 from the field tonight, but he was 5/7 from deep, including 3/3 in the fourth. Murray’s too good not to shoot those.

He showed up when it counted in Game 5.

The Class

Paul Millsap – B+

Malone closed with Porter, but his faith in Millsap as a worthy starter even still to this point in his career, appeared to pay off in the third. Without that run, the third quarter probably goes differently. Shoot, look at the third quarter of Game 4.

Please allow me a moment to defend the honor of a player who never got the respect he deserved throughout his career, especially here in Denver. Indeed, Millsap is well over the hill at this point. It’s also true that his current salary far outweighs his production. But it’s not true that this is now, or ever was a bad contract. Depending on what you read, you might be under the impression that money was better spent elsewhere. So allow me to clarify. That money wasn’t going to LeBron James. It wasn’t going to Kawhi Leonard either. That was never up to Denver.

It went instead to a 4x All-Star with an exceptional career built on the foundation of his elite defense and veteran presence. It’s hard to remember now, but Millsap had multiple suitors that summer. The deal Denver landed on was considered a bargain.

The Nuggets have improved drastically on the defensive end and marginally in the win column since his arrival. Sure, Millsap is a step slow when rotating these days, but what was once a bottom of the barrel defense has since cleared the threshold of serviceable in the playoffs. They’re a better team for signing him, they’re closer to their ultimate goal for signing him, and they won’t regret signing him whether or not he returns on a more favorable deal. Millsap is among the most significant acquisitions in the history of this organization. Put some respect on his name.

Michael Porter Jr. – B+

To call that ending poetic would fall short of an apt description. Of course, it was Porter who hit that shot. Of course, he followed it up by sealing the deal with a big-time play on defense.

After the game, MPJ doubled-down on his controversial comments following Game 4. He stands by what he said. He thinks he and others should touch the ball more. That’s hard to argue on this fine Saturday morning.

We’ll spend a lot of time thinking and talking about that shot today. Don’t forget about his defense down the stretch. That was winning basketball from the rook.

Monte Morris – B

In Monte, we trust to knock down two clutch free throws and seal the deal.

Morris put the game away at the line, hit five of his eight shots, and recorded three steals.

Jerami Grant – B-

There’s an argument to make that Grant’s three-point shooting is the biggest x-factor in this series. Despite shooting just under 40% from deep in consecutive regular seasons, the Clippers have dared him to take and make the open three. To this point, he’s gone dreadfully cold, but he hit 2/5 Friday night, including a mammoth shot in the fourth. Will the hoop look a little bigger for him in Game 6?

Principal’s Office

Torrey Craig – D+

This is not his series.