Nuggets-Thunder Grades: The Blue Arrow hits a bullseye

The Denver Nuggets weren’t going to stay down for long, bouncing back on the second night of a back-to-back with a convincing 115-105 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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 (B+) 79.56 — Jokic wasn’t going to be slowed down by the Thunder no matter who they threw his way. He outclassed Steven Adams and overpowered Nerlens Noel on his way to a strong 23-point, 16-rebound double-double. Jokic was efficient too, shooting at a 68 TS% which led to a 130 ORtg, his highest in his last five games. Jokic was superb against the Thunder and was a plus-7 on the night. He also made some key buckets down the stretch as well.

Jamal Murray (A-) 68.44 — Murray hadn’t produced an A-level performance since back on March 12 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he was great against the Thunder recording his fifth-best DPR of the year. Murray outplayed Jokic, and also Russell Westbrook and Paul George, scoring 27 points and registered a 64 eFG%, on a 30 USG%. His 147 ORtg was outstanding as well. Maybe more impressive than Murray’s scoring were his assist numbers. Murray distributed nine assists in OKC, all without turning the ball over. Murray and Jokic were unstoppable in the two-man game too and the Blue Arrow added five boards in 34 minutes to cap off a wonderful night where he was a plus-5.

Paul Millsap (B-) 64.78 — Steady. That’s the word that comes to mind when describing Millsap’s game. When Denver needed him to score, he did, registering an 87 eFG%, and nailing both his three-point attempts on his way to a 140 ORtg. Defensively, a 116 DRtg is far from ideal, but Millsap contributed five boards and two assists in 27 minutes. He was also a plus-7.

Will Barton (C-) 53.44 — Imagine if the Nuggets had Barton playing his best right now. How hard would they be to beat? Barton didn’t have a bad game, scoring 12 points on a 75 eFG% with some important makes from beyond the arc. But what hurt his grade, were five fouls, an ORtg of only 100 and a DRtg of 119. He also turned the ball over three times while only dishing out one assist. He didn’t pull down a single board in 24 minutes either.

Gary Harris (C) 57.99 — The same thing could be said about Harris that we said about Barton, as Denver’s shooting guard was impactful but still isn’t playing to his full potential. Against the Thunder, Harris managed eight points with four assists, two steals, and one rebound in 31 minutes. His 57 eFG% was nice to see as he accounted for a 137 ORtg and a 112 DRtg in a solid performance.

Monte Morris (C-) 52.92 — Morris had a nice game as a distributor, dishing out seven assists with only one turnover in 20 minutes. He was a plus-11 on the night. Morris’ grade would’ve been higher if he shot a bit better, as he only scored four points on a 33 eFG% and had a slightly lower ORtg (108) than DRtg (112).

Mason Plumlee (C+) 62.85 — Plumlee had a nice bounce-back performance, as he scored 11 points on a 100 eFG% and also recorded a 125 ORtg. Not bad in 23 minutes where Plumlee was a plus-6. Three turnovers hurt Plumlee’s grade, but he did dish out three assists and added five boards.

Malik Beasley (C) 54.87 — Beasley was able to impact the game in just 13 minutes, scoring seven points despite pretty lackluster shooting percentages and grabbing three rebounds. The advanced stats didn’t help him but Beasley managed a passing grade thanks to his impact in a short span.

Torrey Craig (C) 57.76 — Craig has averaged a 57.01 DPR in the four-game sweep of the Thunder, which is noticeably better than his season average of 50.27. On Friday night, he posted an efficient performance, scoring six points on a 75 eFG%, with a 154 ORtg. He stayed turnover free and pulled down two boards and had a block. Craig was also a plus-9.

Trey Lyles (D+) 47.67 — Lyles had a quiet outing in 12 minutes, scoring three points, adding a rebound, a steal and an assist.