Grades: Denver Nuggets Drop the Ball in Homecoming

Nikola Jokić – B

Jokić dropped 25, 12, and 9 in under 35 minutes, which wasn’t good enough. His defense was porous, his turnovers were ugly, and he was too tentative, only getting 1o shots up. In his defense, he did get to the free-throw line, and he was deferring to hot hands — the Nuggets shot the ball well from deep all night. But my mind wanders back to the Clippers game when Jokić bullied and stomped his way through double and triple teams. They needed that version of Jokić, or at least a little more of it. These are seemingly unreasonable expectations, but as scholars of Jok, we know better. He can do it any given night.

Will Barton – C-

Barton turned the ball over too many times, fell asleep on defense one too many times, and drew ire with his general lack of effort. All of these criticisms are fair. Barton wasn’t good enough. He’s strung two poor performances in a row after quietly turning the ship around. His offense had been better through a find Jokić approach, and he’s fresh off his best defensive performance in months guarding Bojan. But he’s reverted to some ugly tendencies the last two games.

I want to shine a spotlight on his three steals and block littered throughout a generally insufficient effort on defense. I focus here because it illustrates the difference between Barton and someone like Morris on that end. Barton can and has been an impactful defender. More focus and effort are called for if he’s got it in the tank.

Jeff Green – F

Speaking of the proverbial tank, the once dunkin’ uncle appears to be running on empty. He’s looked that way for a few games now.

Monte Morris – C+ 

Morris protected the ball and did his thing as a shooter, posting 19 points via 5 of 8 shooting from distance. However, like Barton, Forbes, and Bones, he can’t escape criticism for the perimeter defense. Teams are waltzing into the paint, with Morris and Barton shouldering most of the blame.

Davon Reed – C

Reed did an excellent job limiting Brandon Ingram as a scorer, at least initially. But Ingram did rack up 12 assists, and Reed had a rough time in the clutch. He bricked an open three and threw a terrible turnover that resulted in an easy fast break.

Zeke Nnaji – B-

For the optimists, starved and desperate for a morsel of good news, I humbly present Zeke Nnaji. Nnaji played an encouraging overall game, showcasing his rebounding, defense, and the various ways Malone can deploy him on offense without commanding shots. While we’re on the topic, he should be used more in the offense and command more shots.

Bones Hyland – C+

Bones didn’t play a great game, but the bench group wasn’t the problem against New Orleans. They turned in one good stint, which had Bone’s fingerprints on it. One good stint should be enough. The starters didn’t have the juice this time.

He gets a little ahead of himself at times. That’s a symptom of a healthy thought — push the pace and run the floor — and with more reps should come more control in that approach.

Austin Rivers – F

Rivers played a horrid game, from which the top takeaway might be how he exited it. Strangely, and perhaps entirely out of frustration, Rivers headed straight for the locker room, not the bench, after being subbed out for the final time. He kicked a stanchion on his way out.

Bryn Forbes – F

Forbes shot 2 of 11 from the field. Forbes should be playing consistently, as he has been, but the minutes approach untenable when he’s missing so many shots. Forbes is a scorer first, second, and third. He doesn’t bring much else to the table. Ultimately, his minutes weren’t too costly this time. The bench played a decent game.

JaMychal Green – C-

Green had two great steals while blitzing pick-and-rolls, emerging as a niche skill for the vet. He countered that with two turnovers, though, and could not stop fouling. He played in Cousins’ stead, with Malone citing Cousins’ injured foot as the reason, despite the team clearing him to play.