There’s a chance that no one feels more relieved this morning than Peyton Manning. Manning likes to attend Nuggets games with his family, like an average person. Of course, he isn’t one. He’s Peyton F****** Manning. The Nuggets trot him out there like a mascot, writing him into bits with Rocky, and making it virtually impossible for him to experience the game like ordinary folk. They do it every time, and searching his facial expression for the suppressed misery is one of my favorite in-arena games. Such is the life of the best quarterback in town.
On Sunday, Peyton might have seen light at the end of the tunnel as a potential successor emerged. No, I’m not talking Drew Lock, making a courtside appearance of his own. I’m talking about Nikola Jokić, potentially the best thrower of a ball this city has ever seen.
Jokić went deep into his bag in the 133-118 win over the Toronto Raptors, producing as many playmaking highlights in one game as we’ve seen from the transcendent talent. While the Raptors looked hell-bent on winning the basketball game, Jokić almost seemed more concerned with completing a full-court touchdown pass to his streaking teammates. Four times he tried it, twice finding former wideout Gary Harris for a completion, and once to Will Barton III, who missed the bucket, thus ruining one of my favorite assist highlights ever.
Jokić was masterful in his craft, dominating the glass, scoring with ease, and setting up his teammates in ways that few, if any, big men have before.
The Raptors were without Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, significant absences. But they were ready to play from the jump and tested the resiliency of a Nuggets team coming off its most embarrassing loss of the year. Denver responded. Jamal Murray set the tone with a thermonuclear first quarter in which he logged 17 points in the blink of an eye. He was shot ready from deep and helped the Nuggets establish an early lead they’d maintain for most of the game.
In a classic display of Nugglife, the infamous almost-Nugget, OG Anunoby, played the game of his life, dropping 31 points on 12-16 from the field, grabbing seven rebounds, and logging seven steals. It would have been excruciating if not for the job that Gary Harris, Torrey Craig, and Jerami Grant did in slowing both Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam. Both of Toronto’s stars were held to 28.6% shooting while combining for 33 points.
As it turns out, the Nuggets are fine. At least until their next ugly loss.
My God is 82 games a long season.
Let’s go to the grades:
Honor Roll
Nikola Jokić – A+
Without Gasol, the Raptors lacked an obvious candidate to stifle Jokić. As should be expected, Jokić ran rampant. In 25 minutes, he scored 23 points on 11 shots, grabbed 18 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists. That’s a triple-double if anyone’s counting—the 40th of his career, making him the third-fastest player to reach that total in NBA history behind Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. From the full-court passes to the no-look touch pass on the run, to the multiple funky angles he exploited out of the double—he was dropping dimes left and right.
We’re so lucky to witness this in real-time. There’s a chance that Jokić’s career slips through the cracks in the annals of basketball history. There’s a chance few will know, and even fewer will care. But we do. He is a historic talent and a truly unique one. Don’t ever take him for granted.
Jokic made these 3 passes on back to back to back possessions tonight. pic.twitter.com/CKCrLuecSX
— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) March 2, 2020
Jamal Murray – A-
Murray broke his streak of consecutive great performances in Los Angeles, but he wasted no time getting back into a rhythm against Toronto. Seventeen of his 22 points came in the first quarter. He was 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from deep in the first 12 minutes, perhaps the hottest we’ve seen him from beyond the arc. Murray went cold for the rest of the game, but 17 points is a lot, and it set the tone for a bounce-back win.
Gary Harris – A-
Harris scored 15 points on 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-3 from deep in just under 30 minutes on Sunday night. It was one of the best offensive performances of his season. He didn’t just hit his open shots, he was decisive and in control—a cog in a potent half-court offense—in a way we hadn’t seen in 2019-20. To top it off, he played excellent defense on Lowry.
Here’s a fun fact: in the five games since the All-Star break, Harris is shooting 46.2% from the field and 58.3% from three.
The Class
Torrey Craig – B+
If I told you a Nuggets player recorded 17 points and 3 rebounds on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep, you’d probably tell me you thought it was a good game from Jerami Grant. But that was Craig’s line. Sometimes you find a dollar or two in your pocket when you least expect it. It’s always dope when that happens. This performance from Craig is more like finding 20 dollars.
Jerami Grant – B+
Grant put up 16 points and 3 rebounds in over 36 minutes of play. His defense on Siakam was the main course, coming with a side of 6 unexpected assists. Siakam was 6-of-21 from the field in the loss and turned it over four times. Grant’s individual defense on opposing longbois is a crucial development for a team with designs on a deep playoff run.
Michael Porter Jr. – B
Porter Jr. looked relieved in his post game availability. Instead of fielding questions about how hard it must be to sit on the sideline, we asked him about the actual basketball he did play. MPJ put up 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, but the most important column is minutes played. He logged 19:10.
Principal’s Office
Will Barton III – D+
Barton III is struggling since coming off the injury report. He was 3-of-9 from the field with four turnovers on Sunday night, scoring just 11 points. His workload in the first half of the season is under-appreciated. Barton III logged heavy minutes and wore multiple hats, ranging from alternative ball-handler to rebound and wing-defense specialist. He’s made a concerted effort to battle in those two areas in a way he hasn’t before in his career. But it all appears to have taken a toll on him.
