Grades: Nuggets drop Game 1 to Trail Blazers in Denver

The playoffs are here, and the Denver Nuggets kicked their series off with Portland by playing host in Game 1 Saturday night. The Trail Blazers were not kind guests. They kicked their feet up and made themselves at home. A barrage of screens and threes buried the Nuggets, who are already in another hole after losing 123-109.

Let’s go to the grades:

Nikola Jokić – A

Jokić had no trouble scoring on Portland, but he recorded just one assist and struggled on the defensive end. The former isn’t his fault. The Nuggets and their jump shots froze over. The Blazers played him straight up as much as they could, and he punished them for it, but no one else got into a rhythm.

In 2019, it became trendy for folk who barely watched the series to point to Jokić’s pick-and-roll defense as a top factor in the result. But Jokić played well then, making it difficult for the guards to turn the corner on him and bust the defense. He struggled in that regard Saturday night, and it was consequential. Still, he was probably the best player on the court.

Michael Porter Jr. – B

Porter started hot and knocked down all 11 of his attempts from inside the arc. But he missed nine of his ten threes. The threes should fall as the series rolls on, and several of them were desperation chucks in the final frame. In the third quarter, Portland attacked MPJ relentlessly. He held up better than he did last postseason, even blocking Dame at one point. But the approach yielded success. Perhaps more troubling than Porter’s individual defense — which, again, looked much improved — was his inability to navigate the mazes of screens. All in all, he played well. Yet Denver needs more still.

Aaron Gordon – C+

Gordon’s line was fine, and he almost played a good game. But there were a handful of pivotal moments in which he had a chance to put his imprint on the game and came up short. He missed one too many bunnies, he struggled to field passes cleanly, and he lost focus at times defensively. The mistakes were loud, mainly because they had the chance to become big plays instead. He also played in less than 30 minutes. Malone could stand to lean on his top players more in Game 2.

Austin Rivers – C

Rivers was available after winding up on the injury report with a non-covid related illness. He got the start but did not play well. He missed several open threes, including some big ones. This is the part where we remind ourselves that Rivers is sick and a late-season pick-up. They need more from him in Game 2 regardless.

Facundo Campazzo – B-

Campazzo played a solid game. Lillard scored a lot of points and played tremendously, but it wasn’t the most efficient scoring display, and he did most of his damage as a passer. Campazzo stayed glued to him as best he could and played fine on the other end. Facu stole the ball twice, recorded five assists, and knocked down three of his four shots. The problem is the lack of pressure he’s applying as a pick-and-roll scoring threat. He’s not Jamal Murray, and we can’t expect him to be throughout this series either.

Monte Morris – B-

Morris played a solid game off the bench but only logged 21:59. Denver needs more minutes from him.

JaMychal Green – D

Denver got nothing from Green, as they have from some time now.

Paul Millsap – C-

Millsap did record four assists, but he turned the ball over twice, and one was quite untimely late in the game. It was not a good start to the series from him.

Markus Howard – C-

Somehow, Markus Howard logged 19:58 in the first game of a playoff series. Remarkably, Malone leaned into an offense-first approach and opted for Howard’s added firepower over the defense of Shaq Harrison, or an even shorter rotation. But Howard didn’t provide enough firepower to justify his minutes. Scoring is his only skill, and there are plenty of deficiencies. Perhaps we see Shaq in Game 2. For now, we’re shaking our heads at twenty minutes from Howard in the most crucial game of the season to date.

Game Notes: Per ESPN’s Stats and Info, the Nuggets shot just 1-10 from the floor on potential Jokić assists.

Portland’s 19 threes were the most in any playoff game of the Lillard era, and their 6 turnovers made for the second-lowest playoff total in the Lillard era.

Portland’s 6 turnovers tonight were the 2nd fewest by the Blazers in any playoff game of the Damian Lillard era (57 games)

Their 19 made 3’s were the most by the Blazers in any playoff game of the Damian Lillard era.

Denver ran into a buzz saw, but they’ll find their footing.

— Jake Coyne (Stat Squatch) (@BroncoSquatch) May 23, 2021