Nikola Jokić Ejected, Denver Nuggets Win Anyway in Chicago

“New game plan: we just want Jokić to get ejected as quick as he can … see if we can make it happen from there.” – AG

Nikola Jokić – Ejected

“Call the foul, motherf*****!”

That sentence sent Jokić to the showers early in Chicago. The quick hook was met by vocal disappointment from the home crowd, comprising many Serbians. The Bulls announcers didn’t hold back their disappointment on the home broadcast either. From the paying Bulls fans to displaced Nuggets fans and the Serbians in the crowd, many were robbed of their annual chance to watch an all-time great player. And the entire situation was avoidable.

Jokić wasn’t sitting on a technical when Mousa Dagher tossed him in the first half. He went straight to an ejection after Jokić used the magic words. Jokić admitted after the game that he crossed the line, but what vexes me is why one technical wouldn’t have been sufficient.

Michael Porter Jr. – C+

Porter shot just 2/8 in the first half. He missed every three he took, and it wasn’t his best effort defensively, either. At his best, he impacts the game in many ways. More than given credit for. At his worst, he drifts up and down the court—more a witness than a participant. That was the story of his first two quarters. He turned things around after Jokić’s ejection, however.

Porter scored 11 points on 4/8 shooting, 2/5 from deep, and grabbed 5 rebounds in the second half. After the big fella’s dismissal, MPJ and his teammates turned it up a notch.

Aaron Gordon – B+

Gordon recalibrated his approach, and he’s back to doing AG things. His playmaking shined in the win. He posted six assists to zero turnovers, including five in the second half. Someone had to step up with no Jokić or Jamal Murray on the floor—or KCP, for that matter, who also left the game early after incidental contact to the head. Gordon found cutters and shooters. He kept the water flowing when it might have otherwise stagnated.

Reggie Jackson – A

Starting the title defense with Reggie Jackson as the backup point guard seemed suboptimal. I said and wrote as much at the time. Unsurprisingly, Calvin Booth knew what he was doing, and I had no clue.

To hell with laissez-faire. Sign me up for ‘Big Government’. Reggie Jackson has been a revelation in Denver, and it’s hard to imagine where they’d be without him. He scored 25 points on 9/16 shooting and 5/8 from 3 in Murray’s absence.

Christian Braun – C

Let’s check back in on CB’s shot. Improvement there is a priority for him. Braun got four 3s up in Chicago and knocked down two of them. He was hunting for it. He’s up to 39% on the season.

Despite that success, the Nuggets got crushed with Braun on the floor. He finished -14 on a night when Denver won by 8. His three turnovers didn’t help.

Justin Holiday – B-

Holiday likes playing in Chicago. He played arguably the best season of his career there in 2017-18 and knocked down a couple of 3s off the bench Tuesday night. His open jumpers are within the circle of trusted shots.

Julian Strawther – A-

Strawther was scoreless in the first half. He went to work in the second. The rookie finished with 16 points on 4/8 shooting, 2/5 from deep, and 6/6 from the free throw line in 17 minutes to close the game. He’s fearless, and his microwave scoring is increasingly valuable to the Nuggets.

Peyton Watson – C

Watson finished 1/6 from the field. Still, his defense popped at times, and the bench did their thing in a back-to-back road win.

DeAndre Jordan – C+

The Bulls did much of their best work with DeAndre Jordan on the floor. But he filled in admirably for Jokić, fighting hard for his ten boards, earning a boatload of free throws, and blocking two shots.