Nikola Jokić – A-
Jokić scored or assisted on eight of Denver’s first eleven buckets and looked ready to feast on Toronto’s lack of centers. But what Toronto does have, is length, and they made it difficult for Denver to get him the ball or punish them for selling out to prevent it. Does this sound familiar? Jokić did not get a single shot up in the fourth, which is a critical failure for his teammates.
Will Barton – D
Barton was putting together a decent return before the fourth quarter struck, and then the wheels fell off completely. He turned the ball over, couldn’t find Jokić, lost his man on a backdoor cut, and could not keep Toronto off the glass. That last part applies to the entire team, but notably Barton in the fourth. Chris Boucher finished with a ridiculous nine offensive rebounds, and Toronto grabbed 23 as a team. In the end, they took 24 more shots than Denver. That was the difference.
Monte Morris – C+
Morris played well when he touched the ball but didn’t touch it enough, only getting six shots up and barely factoring into crunch time. He, too, was affected by Toronto’s extensiveness as Denver’s guards could not get Jokić the ball in the fourth quarter.
Jeff Green – D
Speaking of rebounding, Denver’s starting power forward only grabbed two of them. He also got worked by Scottie Barnes. I’m prone to treating Green as an afterthought in these grades. Either he was fading into the background of a game or jolting us with thunderous dunks and surprise performances. But what he doesn’t do well, rebound, defend, or corral loose balls, was a significant factor in this loss.
Davon Reed – D
Pascal Siakam is a tough matchup for Reed, but that was his assignment, and he failed to contain him. Without Aaron Gordon on the floor, Siakam went to work from start to finish, and Reed was not the solution to that problem.
Bones Hyland – A-
Hyland was spectacular, leading Denver’s bench with 17 points and seven assists — five of which he picked up in his first stint. Hyland’s coming into his own as both a scoring threat and point guard down the stretch.
DeMarcus Cousins – D
After a strong push to close a big third quarter, the Nuggets began the fourth, a crucial period in the game, with their five-man bench lineup on the floor. The second unit had a small cushion and plenty of momentum, but the minutes did not go well, and Cousins’ fingerprints were all over it.
He put his head down and barreled to the rim with little success, ignoring open shooters, and creating fast breaks in the other direction. Meanwhile, Malone just watched, waiting far too long to bring Jokić back into the game.
Bryn Forbes – C+
I thought the bench could have used more Forbes in their second stint, and he was open on the perimeter, but Boogie’s eyes were rim-locked.
JaMychal Green – D+
Green was not at his best on the glass, and he picked the wrong night to struggle in that capacity.
Austin Rivers – C+
It was a weird matchup for Rivers, who returned to the bench and didn’t have a big-time assignment on defense. He played a decent game, although he was little help in the fourth. To be fair, that applies to virtually everyone.
