How Monte Morris emerged as the Nuggets' unsung Round 1 hero

Monte Morris admits he used to have nightmares about his playoff debut.

Moris shot under 40% from the field and went 0-13 from three-point range across 14 games during the 2019 postseason. By the end of the Nuggets’ seven-game classic vs. the Trail Blazers, he was barely in Michael Malone’s rotation. In a pivotal Game 6 loss, Morris logged just two minutes and Denver was outscored by seven points when he was on the floor.

His struggles didn’t come as a total surprise. Morris was a second-year backup coming off a two-way contract. Most of Morris’ rookie year was spent in the G League, adjusting to the NBA three-point arc, battling his Rio Grande Valley teammates for the aisle seat on economy flights, and trying to get comfortable enough to catch z’s on five-hour bus rides north to play the Austin Spurs.

But the traumatic postseason debut ended up serving as Morris’ right of passage. He grew from the experience. It kept him up at night and forced him to grind harder than ever before.

Simply put, it pissed Morris off.

“That’s why I bust my ass and work hard,” he said. “I don’t want that feeling ever again.”

“I needed to go through it.”

Nowadays, the nightmares are gone and Morris is sleeping easy. The fourth-year guard was instrumental in the Nuggets’ six-game series win over the Trail Blazers where Denver’s bench thoroughly outplayed Portland’s. It was one of the key reasons why for the first time in franchise history the Nuggets advanced past the first round of the playoffs in three straight seasons.

In Denver’s double-OT Game 5 victory, Morris poured in a career-high 28 points, led the Nuggets in scoring with nine points across both overtimes, and had a radar lock on the rim. He teamed with Nikola Jokic to pick-and-roll the Blazers to death, and the attention Portland cast on Denver’s big man allowed Morris wide-open lanes to the rim. He took advantage. So far in the playoffs, Morris is averaging 1.31 points per possession as the ball handler in pick-and-rolls, per NBA.com. It’s the best mark in the postseason among the 29 players with at least 20 pick-and-roll possessions.

In a series-deciding Game 6, Morris again came up big in the clutch. He tallied nine of his 22 points in the fourth, played the entire final 12 minutes of regulation, and handed out nine assists to just one turnover in 33 steady minutes. Morris’ biggest shot of the night came at the third-quarter buzzer when he cashed a running, floating, one-handed, one-footed three. It capped a late-third quarter stretch where the Nuggets seized momentum for the first time all game.

Morris finished the six-game series as the Nuggets’ +/- leader. Denver outscored Portland by 36 points in his 177 minutes.

“I gave him a big hug, told him how much I loved him,” Michael Malone said the Nuggets closed out the series. “He said, ‘Coach, thank you for showing confidence in me.'”

Morris deserves his flowers. After Denver whiffed hard with its first-round selection in 2017, the Nuggets scooped up the four-year point guard out of Iowa State up with the 51st overall pick. He’s been the quintessential Nugget ever since. Morris paid his dues in G League, then all of a sudden was promoted into Denver’s backup point guard job once it became clear that Isaiah Thomas wasn’t going to be ready for the start of the 2018-19 season. Morris excelled. He went on to play in all 82 games during his sophomore season and established himself as one of the better backup point guards in the NBA.

There’s a lot more to Morris’ story than his steady backcourt hand. Morris bleeds Nuggets skyline blue and flatiron red. He’s all about the organization and constantly spreads Nuggets gospel around his vast NBA circle. And Denver’s Pied Piper knows everyone. Morris texts regularly with Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and the NBA aristocracy, but is also somehow tight with rookies who are just entering the league.

Inside the walls of Ball Arena, he’s the Nuggets’ unofficial hype man. Back in January with the Nuggets hovering around .500, Morris approached Jokic in the Nuggets’ weight room following a win and started to shower him with praise. Morris told Jokic that even though he doesn’t grab the attention and headlines that other NBA stars do, he’s just as impactful and destined for greatness. “Hall-of-Fame greatness,” to quote Morris exactly. Jokic probably didn’t need the ego boost, but after Morris’ hype speech the Nuggets rattled off five straight wins allowing the now clear MVP frontrunner to officially join the Most Valuable Player race.

Morris also serves as the Nuggets’ unofficial team ambassador. When news broke last offseason that Denver was signing Argentinian point guard Facu Campazzo, Morris asked Tim Connelly for his new teammate’s phone number so he could welcome him to Denver. Even though Campazzo could cut into his minutes, Morris wanted to give him the low-down on the organization.

“That’s classic Monte,” a source told DNVR about the gesture.

Two weeks later, Morris and the Nuggets agreed to a three-year, $27 million extension. It was a contract that Morris earned based on his on-court production but also for his off-court service. Morris could have opted to play out his current deal and seek more minutes elsewhere, but he feels too strong of a connection to the Nuggets to suddenly bolt and move on from what’s been constructed in Denver. He wants to complete the job.

“I really just didn’t want to start over,” Morris said at the time. “With me only being 25, I’ve still got a lot of basketball that I can play, and why not try to finish something with the guys that you started with?

“It wasn’t even about my role really.”

It’s not often that a former second-round pick like Morris can become one of the standard-bearers of an NBA franchise, but that’s what he’s done in Denver. It’s why we at DNVR awarded him the title of Mr. Nugget following Gary Harris’ departure at this season’s trade deadline. Morris embodies Denver’s culture in every way. He’s a grinder, a basketball addict, a dedicated worker, and a fierce competitor who’s going to fight to the bitter end. He’s also an underdog who dropped on draft night and like so many others on the Nuggets’ roster uses that slight as motivation.

“I just want to be a role model for someone else that’s either undrafted or drafted late and had the same journey,” said Morris.

Morris and the Nuggets’ never-say-die spirit was on display against the Blazers. Denver could have allowed its spirit to plunge after Damian Lillard’s barrage of step-back three-pointers in Game 5, but the Nuggets didn’t back down from one of the greatest playoff performances in NBA history. In Game 6, the Nuggets could’ve packed it in when trailing by 14 points midway through the third knowing that they had Game 7 at home to fall back on. But Denver battled and battled and battled. The Nuggets came all the way back to send Lillard and the Blazers packing on their home floor.

With all the injuries Denver has endured this season, advancing past Portland should be looked at as a massive victory. It’s validation — even though none was needed — for Jokic’s forthcoming MVP. It’s a reminder that even without Jamal Murray, Will Barton and PJ Dozier, Denver’s equal opportunity brand of basketball still trumps a one-man show. The Nuggets can look at their series win and could be satisfied.

But why would they be? Morris has never backed down before. He’s never stopped pushing forward. He wasn’t satisfied in the G League. He couldn’t stomach being known as the guy who didn’t make a single three-pointer in the 2019 playoffs. He and the Nuggets have always strived for that next step and doubled down on what’s being built in Denver.

Why would they shy away from the improbable now?

“We’re not done,” Morris said following the Nuggets’ Game 6 win. “We’re not satisfied. We won the series, but it’s not over.”