Grades: Nuggets Can't Keep Up With Suns in Fourth Quarter

Nikola Jokić – C+

Jokić turned it over eight times and only took ten shots despite hitting nine of them. After an aggressive first quarter, he shifted down to a deferential gear. He chose last-second passes over his floater and was reluctant to shoot a mid-range shot that rarely misses. It was strange to see such high-level basketball, featuring contributions from virtually every player on the floor, not be controlled by Jokić. His fingerprints are usually all over contests like that. Denver needed a little more from the big fella Thursday night. Or, at least, fewer turnovers.

Aaron Gordon – B+

Gordon was aggressive around the rim, scoring 21 points on 16 shots. I’ve written before about longing to see AG turn wide-open jumpers into wide-open driving/cutting lanes, and, for the most part, he took that approach against Phoenix. Look at his made shot chart.

He also grabbed three offensive rebounds, and the second-chance points were crucial to Denver staying competitive. However, he gets dinged for two turnovers to zero assists and could have earned a much higher grade by stifling Devin Booker. In his defense, Booker was thermonuclear before AG even drew the assignment.

Jeff Green – B-

Green shot 3 of 3 from deep, and they all felt like important shots. Unfortunately, that’s all he provided. Green grabbed one rebound again in 23:27 on the floor. With just under ten minutes remaining and the game tied at 73, Chris Paul snared an awkward bounce over Green. Now, Green had to adjust after taking a different position, and the ball found Paul, but Green is one of the best athletes on the floor. He must win those opportunities. Or at least, more of them than he does. Denver needs that from him.

Will Barton – B

Barton drew the Booker assignment initially, and he’s guilty of leaving a world-class scorer too much room to operate. Booker got going early, and as Malone said after the game, once you let a guy catch fire, it’s almost impossible to put out. While that is true, it’s also true that Booker spread it around plenty. He hit tough shots in every defender’s face and had no problem drawing fouls either. It was not just a Will problem. On the other side of the floor, Barton was great. He finished with 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting with eight assists and one turnover.

Monte Morris – B-

Morris played a decent game—he came up clutch from deep—but an uncharacteristic turnover in crunch time left a lasting impression.

Bones Hyland – A

Hyland was sensational. He got himself going early by driving through the teeth of the defense and creating contact around the rim. Bones shot seven free throws in the first quarter alone. Then he got going from deep, hitting some seemingly impossible shots. The rook is drawing from an endless well of confidence, and he put his mark on a high-level NBA game. In the final three minutes, Malone subbed him in for Jeff—he then missed a three and committed a silly foul in transition. Still, another excellent game from Tim Connelly’s latest find in a long line of exciting young talent.

DeMarcus Cousins – B

Cousins played a good game but nearly lost his cool after incidental contact from Bismack Biyombo. Instinctually, Cousins turned on and stared down his challenger, but Biyombo was already mid-apology. Cousins then tried to draw a rip-through foul and desperately threw the ball at the backboard. He did not get the call. Young Bones saw what was building, took a foul in transition, and wrapped two arms around his vet, begging him to keep his composure. It worked. What can’t this kid do?

Davon Reed – B-

Reed played in place of Bryn Forbes — presumably for defensive purposes. Reed played okay, but it’s hard to laud any tactic for a team that allowed 140 in regulation.