Nuggets-Hornets Grades: Nikola Jokic turns in second-best individual performance of season

The Denver Nuggets handled their business back at home against the Charlotte Hornets in a convincing 123-110 win.

We grade every performance from the Nuggets with our Dynamic Player Rating (DPR), which take into account 12 different statistical factors.

Note: for DPRs that are lacking context, our beat reporters are offering their scout’s grade.

Nikola Jokic (⭐) 96.21 — Only the second star grade we’ve given out all season, Jokic’s season-high 39 points came off an impressive 62-percent TS%. He added 12 boards, six assists, three steals and a block, resulting in the second-best DPR score by any Nugget this season.

His 39.5 USG% is third-best on the year while his insane 37 GmSc was the second best he’s produced in 2018-19. Despite that USG%, Jokic fit in offensively taking open shots and doing a lot of damage on putbacks with his soft hands—eight of his 12 rebounds came on the offensive glass.

Jamal Murray (A-) 54.94 — Murray struggled offensively, scoring eight points off of 30 percent eFG% in  32 minutes. All that resulted in some lackluster scores per the advanced stats, with his lowest GmSc in the past five games and an ORtg of 84. Murray salvaged his grade with seven dimes, six assists, and a plus-nine night.

Torrey Craig (C+) 61.63 — Craig got going early, making some easy buckets on his way to contributing 12 points on 71 percent eFG%. He added three boards, a block, and an assist in a plus-10 outing. His DRtg of 120 was nothing special but his efficient offensive output carried his grade.

Juancho Hernangomez (F) 26.91 — No player has been affected more by the return of Paul Millsap than Juancho, who’s just not looked like himself. His worst DPR of the season is a product of zero points missing all three of his shot attempts—all coming from three-point land. Unlike in other rough scoring outings, Hernangomez didn’t do much on the boards with only two defensive rebounds. The advanced stats hated his performance too.

Mason Plumlee (C+) 61.31 — Plumlee was big in 19 minutes, scoring eight points, taking down three boards, five assists, and three blocks. His distribution was a big part of why the Nuggets were playing beautiful basketball, passing the rock around and finding great shots instead of settling for good ones, producing 30 assists — eight more than Charlotte tallied as a team. He registered an 80 percent eFG% and had zero turnovers. His minus-1 plus-minus hurt him a bit but this was a quality outing for Plumlee none the less.

Paul Millsap (B) 71.62 — Millsap keeps getting stronger, posting his best DPR since returning to the rotation. In 27 minutes he scored 18 points off of 57 percent TS%, adding six boards, three assists, and four steals for a plus-14. His 105 DRtg was impressive too as he looked more nimble and seemed very comfortable offensively.

Gary Harris (B) 74.63 — Not only did Harris look like himself nailing transition threes and unleashing vicious dunks while easily putting in his best performance since returning from injury, but this was also Harris’ fourth-best game per DPR of the entire year. A scary sign for opponents. Harris led all players with plus-23, scoring 18 points, adding six boards, and five assists. He played a magnificent game per all the advanced stats and still looks like he’s just scratching the surface.

Monte Morris (C) 58.21 — It’s merely a passing grade, but after three consecutive games below 50 DPR, Morris’ night was much more positive despite still struggling to shoot it from the field. His 50 percent TS% and eight points were a product of going 2-of-3 from beyond the arc in a plus-8 outing.

Malik Beasley (D) 44.99 — Beasley’s now had two consecutive games below 50 DPR and struggled in 22 minutes, scoring four points while making 2-of-4 shots with both his misses coming from three-point land. He didn’t add much else in this one as his ORtg of 107 was far worse than his 119 DRtg, neither promising figures.

Scout’s Grade (B) — Our metric doesn’t like how Beasley has been playing but he’s put together solid performances as of late. His games against the Hornets wasn’t terribly impressive, but Beasley’s playing quality and significant fourth-quarter minutes and holding his own, which sometimes doesn’t get logged in the stat sheet.

Trey Lyles (B-) 64.67 — Lyles hadn’t scored this high a DPR since the 18th of December against the Dallas Mavericks. He was more involved in the offensive flow with a 162 ORtg and one of the game’s best DRtg of 106. His nine points came off an impressive 50 percent eFG%, he added five rebounds and two assists going plus-five on the night.