Nuggets-Pistons Grades: Denver finds a silver lining in loss

A tired and beat down Denver Nuggets squad suffered their worst road loss of the season in a 129-103 defeat to the Detriot Pistons. The Nuggets were outscored 95-67 after the first quarter.

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

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

Nikola Jokic (C) 55.22 — Jokic’s performance in Motown marked his worst game of 2019 and fourth worst of the season, per DPR, a testament to his consistency thus far. He’s also only had five games under 60 DPR all year. In just 25 minutes, Jokic scored 16 points on 41 percent shooting from the field, dished out four assists to three turnovers and only pulled down three rebounds. His -16 plus-minus didn’t help his grade nor did sub-par ORtg and DRtgs.

Mason Plumlee (C+) 61.98 — Plumlee’s double-double resulted in a fairly positive grade despite a -14 outing. On top of his 15 points and 11 boards, he added six assists and two steals which also helped, all while registering a 54 percent eFG%. However, he turned the ball over six times and shot just 37 percent from the free-throw line.

Malik Beasley (C-) 53.26 — Beasley’s hot-shooting stroke continued in Detroit, to some extent, as he scored 16 points and shot 60 percent from beyond the arc for a 57 percent eFG%. Beyond his shooting, Beasley didn’t make much of a contribution statistically. His -21 plus-minus and 133 DRtg hurt his grade.

Monte Morris (C) 57.69 — In a homecoming game for the Flint, Michigan native, Morris tried to spark the offense with a fairly efficient 18 points off of 69 percent eFG% and added three assists and zero turnovers. Like every Nugget on the night, the lead guard’s defense hurt his grade as a 136 DRtg and -21 plus-minus killed his DPR.

Will Barton (C-) 51.90 — Barton didn’t quite have his scoring touch on the night with a 38 percent eFG% as he scored 10 points in 30 minutes. He did find other ways to impact the offense with seven assists while also generating four free-throw attempts. His 93 ORtg and -16 leveled out his rating in a lackluster night.

Torrey Craig (F) 23.15 — Craig has had a few stinkers this season as this marked his third ‘F’ grade of the year, but his outing in Detroit took the cake as his worst performance. In 21 minutes, Denver’s defensive specialist kept the box score empty with only one block and four fouls on a 0-for-4 night from the field. He did have the best plus-minus of anyone who played over 10 minutes but his 137 DRtg paired with a poor ORtg led to his failing grade.

Juancho Hernangomez (D+) 49.11 — Juancho couldn’t provide a spark offensively scoring six points in 22 minutes on a -14 night. He did add four boards and two steals but seemed to play tentatively and registered a poor 41 percent eFG%.

Trey Lyles (B-) 66.15 — Lyles led all of Denver’s scorers with 20 points in 29 minutes, posting a 69 percent TS%. He was the only Nugget with a higher ORtg than DRtg on the night while adding four defensive boards, three assists, a steal, and a block. If not for a -15 plus-minus, Lyles could’ve received a much higher grade in only his second 20-plus point outing of the season.