DNVR Player Grades: the two-week reunion

From long before the game started until well after it was over, the result itself—a 128-116 win for the Denver Nuggets—felt secondary to what is sure to dominate the headlines. Just a little more than two weeks after being dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the trade deadline, the trio of Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Juancho Hernangomez was back in town.

Both Hernangomez and Beasley are competitors, but that spirit manifests differently for each player. Juancho loved his time in Denver. He and Nikola Jokić forged a friendship that transcends their prior status as teammates, and he lived out the first chapter of his dream in this city. He spoke candidly and at length at practice on Saturday, thanking the city and the organization for his time here. Beasley was short and to the point, noting he had business to do—seemingly ready to turn the page on his time as a Nugget.

Juancho struggled mightily in his 26 minutes, but his performance hardly felt relevant. He was in the arena well after the loss, finding and thanking everyone from former teammates to front office members, even the security guards. His night was about more than basketball.

Beasley, meanwhile, was laser-focused on delivering his new team a win in hostile territory and showing his old team why they might regret their decision. Beasley played well, scoring 17 points in 34 minutes—but without Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell, his efforts were futile as the Nuggets pulled away in the second half. After chirping at the Nuggets sideline for most of the night, a somewhat sheepish Beasley admitted this was more than just another game in the visitor’s locker room.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m a little mad we lost right now,” Beasley told the media with a smile. He acknowledged the strangeness of walking past the Nuggets locker room “without turning right.” He said his matchup with Gary Harris—who sat above Beasley on the depth chart for the duration of his tenure here—reminded him of practice. The return didn’t go quite how Beasley hoped, but it did for the Nuggets.

Harris made life difficult for his former sparring partner and found the bottom of the net on two of his three attempts from deep. After vowing to address his hockey-style rotation patterns, head coach Michael Malone made a concerted effort to leave at least one starter out with his second-unit at all times. It worked as the bench had their way against a depleted well of reserves for the Timberwolves.

Jamal Murray looked sharp, Paul Millsap went off, and Jokić dominated without breaking a sweat as the Nuggets picked up their tenth division win in eleven tries.

Let’s go to the grades:

Honor Roll

Paul Millsap – A

Millsap only needed 25 minutes to score his 25 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range. Millsap grabbed seven boards, picked up a steal, and two blocks—including a freakish rotation from the weakside that ended with him meeting Naz Reid at the rim and forcing a jump ball. He was arguably the best player on the floor for either team.

Nikola Jokić – A

Jokić spent much of his night guarded by either James Johnson, Jordan McLaughlin, Reid, and Juancho. As you might have guessed, that didn’t work out for Minnesota. Jokić was 11-14 from the field on his way to 24 easy points in 30 minutes. How often do you find yourself thinking he was quiet on a particular night, only to glance up and realize he actually dominated? It’s a common occurrence for me, and it happened again on Sunday.

The Class

Jamal Murray – B+

Murray only hit two of his eight attempts from deep, but I’m more concerned with the second number. Eight is a good number for a modern guard with his raw shooting ability. Keep firing.

Monte Morris – B+

Morris got a little help from Malone in this one, spending most of his time on the court alongside at least one starter. Between Murray, Harris, and Will Barton III, the second unit had enough firepower to survive the no-Jokić minutes. Morris put up 16 points and six assists with only one turnover in 31 minutes. He’s been good-to-great for over a month now, and with the possibility of reinforcements in the second-unit going forward, it might be a good time to buy some stock in Monte.

Mason Plumlee – B

Plumlee looked more comfortable in his second game back from injury and clearly benefited from the shuffled rotations. He scored 9 points in 14 minutes, missing just one shot and recording three assists.

Gary Harris – B

As mentioned above, Harris finally found some rhythm offensively. He hit two threes and half of his shots from the floor on his way to 13 points in 30 minutes. On the other end, he contained an overzealous Beasley in a strong defensive performance that was highlighted by a strip and fastbreak dunk in the first quarter.

Jerami Grant – C+

Grant scored 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench, which is great. But he combined for just two rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks—which is not great.

Will Barton III – C-

Barton III didn’t have the touch in this one, missing six of his eight shots from the floor and turning it over twice. But he made other contributions as a secondary ball-handler and distributor. He recorded six assists and blocked a couple of shots on the other end.

Principal’s Office

Michael Porter Jr. – D+

It’s probably not fair to criticize a defacto rookie for his poor play in the second game back from an injury, and especially when he only logged nine minutes. But if he’s not in the proverbial Principal’s Office, he’s certainly in the dog house of his head coach. The leash has been awfully short for him since returning, and he looked uninspired in the win.

Game Ball