Grades: Nikola Jokić Exits Early, Denver Nuggets Fall to Utah Jazz

The loudest silence permeated The DNVR Bar Tuesday night as the reigning NBA MVP, Nikola Jokić, writhed in pain and grabbed his right knee. He collapsed to the ground after a knee-to-knee collision with Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz. It looked potentially severe, and Jokić never returned to the game, but the initial diagnosis is a ‘Knee Contusion’ — something that should be manageable. The Denver Nuggets put up an admirable fight without their best player in the second half, yet they dropped their second game in as many nights.

To the grades:

Nikola Jokić – A+

Assuming the initial diagnosis is correct, then the biggest tragedy is Jokić’s performance being cut short. He was off to a transcendent start: 24 points on 8 of 9 shooting, 3 of 3 from deep, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in 15 minutes. After wrapping up an improbable MVP campaign, Jokić looks like an improved player through four games. Now, we wait for news on a timeline to full recovery.

“I don’t think it’s too, too serious,” said Michael Malone after the game.

Michael Porter Jr. – C-

Porter stayed engaged through his extended scoring drought and never quit. Still, he couldn’t buy a bucket either. Porter shot 5 of 18 from the floor, including 3 of 11 from deep. He took some ill-advised pull-up jumpers, but the story remains an inability to knock down shots he’s used to hitting routinely. What’s most unfortunate is Porter had a chance to put his fingerprints on a signature win. He took the court with the second unit in the fourth quarter and still couldn’t find a rhythm.

Aaron Gordon – A-

Gordon stepped up Tuesday night. He attacked the defense and scored 20 points on 9 of 13 shooting. He stayed aggressive on the glass and pulled down 9 rebounds as well. To nitpick, AG turned it over 4 times and shot 0 of 3 from deep. The three-point shot is a disaster, but he appeared aware of that as he looked for other ways to score.

Will Barton – A-

Barton scored 16 points on just 11 shots in the third quarter alone. That burst gave Denver a chance at victory or at least the illusion of it. He did a lot of that damage at the rim, where he looks markedly improved from last season. So little of the data and so few of the observations through four games hold water. It’s hard to know what’s worth pulling and filing away. This particular takeaway, however, is self-evident.

Housekeeping: Barton grabbed at his thumb in seeming pain toward the end of the game. I’m told he jammed it and is fine.

Monte Morris – B+

Morris played his best game of the nascent season on offense. He shot 8 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 3 from deep, and recorded 4 assists as well. It’d be an honor roll-worthy performance if not for his struggles on defense. The Jazz attacked him relentlessly.

After the game, Morris appeared unsatisfied. He admitted it was his best game of the year but intends to turn in better performances. Morris also brushed off the notion of finding his rhythm after the injury. He’s simply navigating a new role. As for what worked well this time around, he cited an aggressive mindset.

The Bench – F

“I’ve got to figure our bench out,” Michael Malone admitted after the game. He’s stayed committed to a five-man second unit that plays mostly together, but the approach isn’t bearing fruit.

The Jazz bench is excellent, and the Nuggets—well, we’ll go with less than excellent. Facundo Campazzo’s chaotic magic backfired, PJ Dozier didn’t play well, Dos Verdes couldn’t sink a 3, and Austin Rivers didn’t touch the floor after 5:42 of playing time. Outside of the Jokić injury, that was the difference in Utah.

Office Hours

I anticipated disagreement over Jokić’s grade in the last report card, but I didn’t expect an argument that ‘B’ was too generous. Here’s commenter davidwalk.james:

B seems too high of a grade for Jokic to me. The numbers are great but he’s one of, if not the best, player in the league — he should be graded on a curve. The team goes as he does and he turned the ball over a ton on lazy passes and wasn’t great on defense. I’m glad you pointed out how he rarely interacts with MPJ in a positive way on the court, I’ve noticed that as well. His postgame comments have been pretty illuminating too — I don’t think Porter is Jokic’s cup of tea, unfortunately.