Grades: Nuggets lay another egg on Christmas

“Bah Humbug,” head coach Michael Malone said after the Denver Nuggets dropped their Christmas Day matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers. “I don’t think we’ll ever be on a Christmas Day game again.”

The Final Score of 121-108 doesn’t fully reflect the ass-kicking Denver received for a second straight December 25th. The Nuggets found a rhythm late and laid the foundation for another big comeback, but the Clippers held firm and shut the door. Murray struggled again, the second unit looked clunky again, and the second half run happened with MPJ on the bench.

To the grades we go:

Jamal Murray – a lump of coal

Murray heated up a little in the second half, sparking the comeback that wasn’t. His final numbers are adequate: 23 points on 9/20 shooting with 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but they don’t show you the extent to which he no-showed the first half of the game. He was awful on both ends of the court until some shots began to fall.

Murray earned a substantial benefit of the doubt with his playoff performance. And this very author tried to prepare himself and readers for another slow start in the regular season. Still, it’s fair to hold him to a higher standard than this. The contract is kicking in, a deal I’ve defended from the jump, and it’s ok to say: Murray must be better. 

Nikola Jokić – A

Jokić was one rebound away from another triple-double. If asked, I guarantee you he’d tell you that doesn’t mean anything in a loss, and he’d be right. Still, with so much blame to go around, little to none of it falls on him through 2 games. Jokić is ready to go.

Michael Porter Jr. – C+

Porter’s first half featured some flashes of good defense. Of course, we saw some from the other end of the spectrum as well. Despite a hot start, Porter underwhelmed, and seemed to spend much of his night getting yelled at for not standing where he should. Malone closed with the unit that was out there for the second-half push, which did not include MPJ. After the game, he lauded that group for their effort on both ends of the floor.

Paul Millsap – C+

Millsap finished 3/5 from the field, but that’s really the only impact he made. One rebound, no assists, no steals and no blocks in just under 22 minutes of action.

Will Barton – C+

Barton finished with 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 28+ minutes on the floor. He’s grinding and trying to make an impact in more ways than one, but the results are mixed. His 4/10 shooting performance isn’t horrible, especially since he got the line effectively, but he shot 1/4 from deep and ultimately failed to generate a ton of momentum off the bench. His defense also swung in both directions throughout the night. When it was bad, it was ugly. That might be the area where he’s suffering the most since returning from injury.

Gary Harris – F

It’s getting increasingly ugly out there. 2017-18 feels like a memory so distant you’ve begun to question if you’re remembering it correctly at all.

PJ Dozier – C+/B- 

Dozier was part of that group Malone liked in the second half. Playing alongside Murray, Monte Morris, Barton, and Jokić, he and that unit got something going, but it was too little too late. Dozier is close to the player we all want him to be. Malone trusts him on the defensive end, and he has more to offer offensively than Gary Harris does or Torrey Craig did. But he still tries to do a little too much out there at times. D-Line’s ‘Composure’ nickname might not be apt, even if it is fun.

Monte Morris – B-

The second unit still doesn’t look much like a unit, but Morris had a modest bounce-back performance. Morris closed the game in that group I mentioned above, and Murray played his best minutes of the night alongside him. Morris finished with 13 points, 4 assists, and 0 turnovers. That’s more like it.

Isaiah Hartenstein – B-

Hartenstein also improved on his opening performance in the loss to LA. He played 9:31, finishing with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. He looked much more comfortable out there.

Facundo Campazzo – D

Campazzo only played 3:11 Friday night, yet found a way to stand out for the wrong reasons in those 3 minutes. He hasn’t played much, and he hasn’t played well, but it’s also a bit confusing the way he’s been utilized so far. In the opener he was banished to the corners. In Game 2 he never really got a chance. Facumania is drying up fast.

Bol Bol – D

My colleague Superstar Dev said it best tonight.

“He’s just running around out there.”