Grades: Nikola Jokić and Monte Morris Cement Season Sweep of Kings

Nikola Jokić – A+

Jokić is out of his beautiful mind. He followed up the Triple-Double madness with 38 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks on 62.5% shooting. This run has reached absurd levels now. He’s playing on a level that, frankly, may have only been achieved by the Mt. Rushmore of NBA greatness. Even then, he’s giving those legends a run for their money. Jokić dominated every facet of the game and thrust a lineup that wasn’t ready to play on top of his gargantuan shoulders. I shouldn’t overlook the contributions of one other teammate, who we’ll talk about next, but it’s hard to overstate the impact Jokić has on the floor right now. Look at this absurd summary from friend of the show, Joel Rush.

Nikola Jokic in his last 4 games:

38.7 points
15.0 rebounds
10.3 assists
2.3 blocks
1.3 steals
.706 eFG%
.740 TS%

Just insane.#Nuggets #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/WwMr6Vfkfz

— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) March 10, 2022

This is not normal.

Monte Morris – A-

The fourth quarter and the post-game theme was the budding chemistry between Jokić and Morris. The two slammed the door shut in the clutch with some two-man game that evoked memories of Murray and Jokić down the stretch. Morris matched Jokić’s 7 points in the fourth, and Sacramento was unsure how to stop both in pick-and-rolls. As Malone pointed out after the game, Morris can’t just spam the proverbial Jok button. He has to keep the defense honest by reading the coverage and either driving to the rim or pulling up from mid-range when appropriate. Morris looks increasingly comfortable in these scenarios, and he cited his growing relationship with Jokić both on and off the court. It was a love-fest after the game.

“I never have to yell at him.” Jokić joked about Morris.” “I love playing with him… he doesn’t have an ego. He’s going to do whatever to win the game. I respect that.”

Aaron Gordon – D+

Gordon read this game poorly, and it tanked his grade. It wasn’t just that he couldn’t hit shots; it’s that he couldn’t stop taking bad ones. If Morris was masterful in knowing when to pull what lever, Gordon looked more like a restless kid at the controls, pulling, hitting, and breaking every mechanism in sight. He also matched his three assists with three turnovers.

Davon Reed – C-

Malone left Reed out to dry in this one. While Reed wasn’t great defensively, including the controllable factors, he was also woefully undersized to play SF against that Kings group. He spent a lot of time on Trey Lyles, who—and there’s no joke here—torched him in the first half. But Reed was also late on several rotations and didn’t live up to his nickname in Sacramento.

Austin Rivers – D+

This spot start did not go so well for Rivers, who made peculiar decisions and bricked six threes. Luckily, he made that spot start alongside the best basketball player on the planet.

Facundo Campazzo – C-

Campazzo can’t score for the life of him right now, and defenses know that. We don’t have to go overboard with the criticism, though. The bench kept their heads above water, and Campazzo’s six assists, four rebounds, and relentless effort were enough to help get the job done.

Bryn Forbes – C+

Forbes was muttering and yelling at himself like a genuinely insane person as he couldn’t buy a bucket to open the game. He shot was way through the slump, though, and finished with 11 points, the most off Denver’s bench.

Bama Boys – D

The bigs were like two bulls in a china shop, and the rest of the bench had to foot the bill. They could not stop fouling or turning it over, particularly Cousins, who was worse on both accounts. Still, these two have done their job lately, and no Bones Hyland affected them.

Zeke Nnaji – D+

Nnaji barely factored into any bench success as he labored his way through his twenty minutes. It looked like a light cardio and confidence workout as he got used to playing again. He did grab four steals, however.