"I've got to get everybody organized": Monte Morris shoulders blame for second unit's playoff struggles

Michael Malone was joking, but sitting a few feet away from Denver’s coach when he proclaimed that Nikola Jokic may play 48 minutes in the Nuggets’ do-or-die Game 7 against the Spurs, you had to wonder if there was a kernel of truth to his comments.

Denver was coming off a Game 6 loss in San Antonio where Jokic was magnificent, finishing with a career-high 43 points to go with 12 rebounds and nine assists, but once again, when the Nuggets’ All-Star center went to the bench, Malone’s second unit struggled to keep pace with the Spurs. Through 11 playoff games, the Nuggets have outscored their opponent by 64 points with Jokic on the floor but are a minus-49 with him on the bench.

It’s been an alarming issue for Denver throughout playoffs. After a regular season where the Nuggets’ bench was one of the better second units in the league, its failure to carry over that success to the postseason has prolonged each of Denver’s first-round series. Against the Trail Blazers, the Nuggets have hemorrhaged points when their Serbian sensation has gone to the bench. Denver has been outscored by 38 points (!) in 30 minutes with Jokic off the court in its second-round series against Portland, which translates to a spicy -50.2 Net Rating.

“We can take it up another notch for sure,” Monte Morris told BSN Denver Tuesday about the Nuggets’ bench.

Every member of Denver’s second unit — Morris,  Mason Plumlee, Will Barton and Malik Beasley — has struggled at times throughout the playoffs. Plumlee is committing 6.2 fouls per 36 minutes in the postseason, Barton is shooting just 34% from the field, and Beasley is getting a crash course in what it takes to defend in a playoff environment.

Morris hasn’t shot the ball well in the postseason. In fact, he’s been terrible when its comes to generating his own offense over the last few weeks. Morris is shooting 38.5% from the field in the playoffs and has missed all 12 of his 3-point attempts against the Spurs and Trail Blazers. When Morris has been on the floor, Denver is only averaging 102.2 points per 100 possession in the playoffs, down from the 108.8 the Nuggets scored in the regular season with its backup point guard running the show.

“Everybody’s been playing pretty well, besides me shooting the ball, but I’m still feeling good about myself,” Morris said. “Its been hard, me missing a lot of the shots I normally make and not making a 3 yet, so it’s been tough for me, but I’m embracing it. My biggest goal and challenge is to just try to get the bench unit going, and we responded last game I thought.”

“Me, I hold myself to a high standard, and I want to contribute,” Morris added. “At times it’s hard, but I can’t ever forget the type of player I am. And I know me being a point guard, if it flakes down the line on the second unit if we come in and stuff is out of whack, they point the finger at me because I’ve got to get everybody organized. When I say that it’s not putting everything on me, but the majority of stuff I can handle me being the point guard.”

The second unit struggles don’t fall squarely on the shoulders of Morris, a 23-year-old second-year player who spent all but 25 minutes last season in the G League. It’s a collective thorn in the Nuggets’ side that’s plagued Denver throughout the postseason on both offense and defense. The Nuggets’ two most-used lineups in the playoffs that involve at least three bench players (Morris, Beasley, Barton, Millsap, Plumlee and Morris, Beasley, Barton, Craig, Millsap) have -39.6 and -29.8 Net Ratings respectively.

The Nuggets’ bench nearly cost Denver Game 3 in Portland. In a four-point win, four of the Nuggets’ five starters finished as a plus-10 or better in Denver’s 116-112 victory. Jokic was a plus-17. But Denver’s second unit all finished in the negatives. Plumlee was a minus-16 in 16 minutes. Beasley was a minus-9 in 14 minutes. Morris finished 1 of 6 from the field and was a minus-five in 10 minutes.

Playoff familiarity hasn’t boded well for the Nuggets’ bench. Once a series goes four or five games, both team’s secrets are out. The Trail Blazers and Nuggets know what each other are going to run and are prepared for all the offensive and defensive counters that both teams throw one another’s way.

But if Denver’s bench does click, this series could wrap up quickly.

“It’s just going to come down to who wants it more, who gets the 50-50 balls and who shoots the ball better honestly, who makes the tougher plays,” Morris said. “We’ve just got to be ready to go. If our starters set the tone and our bench follows, we expect to have a good game. There’s going to be a game where everybody’s clicking and it’s going to be fun. Y’all will see it.”

Fallout from Game 4

Playoff gamesmanship was on display in Portland

The Trail Blazers held a closed-door walkthrough hours before Sunday’s Game 4 at Moda Center, which tipped at 4 p.m. local time, prohibiting the Nuggets from beginning their warmups until 1:30. Portland’s pregame shootaround led to a bizarre scene that unfolded on the ground level of the arena, where Nuggets assistant coaches were milling around near the media room, looking to fill time and counting down the seconds until they could take the floor. Some players begin their pregame routines closer to three hours before the game.

Whatever it takes.

Harris’ ability to defend McCollum could decide the series

C.J. McCollum has been the Trail Blazers’ best player this series, outplaying lead guard Damian Lillard, the anointed first-round MVP of the playoffs. McCollum’s been Portland’s high-scorer in three of four games and is averaging 25.3 points per game in the series.

For as well as McCollum has played, Gary Harris has done an admirable job of making Portland’s two-guard, and Lillard, work for his offense. Here was one of Harris’ better defensive possessions from Game 4.

The Nuggets will keep Torrey Craig on Lillard, and the Trail Blazers’ point guard could very well have a patented Lillard showing in Games 5 or 6. But Harris’ ability to make McCollum work and hold him in check will be crucial to Denver’s success in the series.

McCollum only scored five points on 19 possessions in Game 4 with Harris as his primary defender, per NBA.com. He tallied 14 points on the 17 possessions Sunday when Beasley was guarding him.

Craig couldn’t keep McCollum in front here.

Has Jokic upped his passing in the playoffs?

Jokic is already the best passing big man in the league, but has he upped his dime-dropping prowess in the playoffs? Not possible, right?

Somehow, it seems like he has. Most of Jokic’s playoff assists have some sort of English on them. Considering the time and situation of this Jokic’s fourth-quarter assist to Harris, mark this helper as one of the big man’s better dimes of his career. Of course, Jokic looked Enes Kanter off here, convincing the Trail Blazers’ center that he was actually going to shoot before dropping a perfectly-placed pass to Harris.

“He’s like Magic Jokic. He’s king of the no-look,” as Malone said way back during Jokic’s rookie year.