Grades: Jazz Overpower Nuggets in Disastrous Fourth Quarter

Nikola Jokić – A 

Jokić was tremendous against the Jazz, who fell back into the strategy of drastic staggering and tons of Rudy Gobert minutes alongside the second unit. The Jazz had no answer for Jokić once he actually caught the ball, but that proved distressingly tricky for the Nuggets once again. Denver’s starters did enough to win their minutes but not enough to make up for the disastrous bench stints. When Rudy Gay was on the floor in place of Gobert, Denver had to dominate, not just win. That’s not all on Jokić. Most of it isn’t. He did virtually everything he could to keep Denver competitive, finishing with 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 14 assists on 10 of 18 shooting.

Jeff Green – C

Green only logged 19:47 on the floor as Bones Hyland spent a lot of time alongside the starters. Green took Bojan Bogdanovic from the jump, although we also saw plenty of Aaron Gordon. Neither could faze him. Bogdanovic should be a First Ballot Nuggets Killer and might fail to qualify only due to transcending the moniker. This dude can flat-out hoop. 

Aaron Gordon – B+

Gordon played an excellent game offensively, but Bogdanovic sees right through him. The Nuggets are still figuring out how to optimize AG’s value defensively against the Jazz. He spent a lot of time checking Donovan Mitchell and Bogdanovic, and both got theirs.

Will Barton – D+

Barton flipped the usual script, playing like he was stuck underwater in the first quarter, only to get it going in his typically nightmarish third quarter. The latter came via hard drives to the rim through contact, a welcome sight from Thrill. But it’s his slow start and porous defense that stand out the most in this performance. Barton wilts on almost every screen, and it puts his teammates in difficult positions. He must steel up on that end of the floor.

Monte Morris – C+

Morris shot 1 of 8 from deep, where he’s now in a mini-slump again. Morris wasn’t the problem against Utah, but he could have helped Denver dominate those non-Gobert minutes by knocking down some open threes. He, too, is not good enough defensively right now, but I’m not sure if that will change. Morris is limited due to size.

Bones Hyland – C+

Bones started hot, then fell off. He shot 5 of 14 from deep in 36:42 on the floor. His presence could have, in theory, helped the spacing around Jokić and discouraged double-teams. But the rookie wasn’t at his best Monday night.

Davon Reed – C

Reed wasn’t as bad as his box score suggests, but he wasn’t much better. The entire bench struggled, mainly to start the fourth quarter.

Facundo Campazzo – F

Facu couldn’t knock down an open shot, forced his low bounce pass one too many times, and put Denver in foul trouble. If Portland is his dream matchup, Utah is somewhere on the other end of the spectrum.

Zeke Nnaji – D

Zeke got some light cardio in nearly 10 minutes of playing time. He faded almost entirely into the background.