The List: Jerami Grant is going to draw a lot of fouls playing alongside Nikola Jokic

“The List” is a brand new series that serves as a companion piece for the “Notebook” episodes of the Locked on Nuggets podcast and the DNVR Nuggets podcast. In this edition, I share some notes on the season-opening win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday as part of a companion piece to the latest episode of the DNVR Nuggets Podcast.

1. There are a few running theme to this series early on and of of them is the value of soft screens and brush screens. In the clip below, Gary Harris never makes contact with Damian Lillard but is still able to put Lillard out of position by faking the screen and releasing. A solid screen would’ve led to a switch so Lillard gets caught between wondering what type of screen is coming. A second theme has been how the tiny details about playing the dunker spot add up and effect a team’s ability to get to the rim. Jerami Grant has provided some nice examples of how to do this well. Paul Millsap provides an example of how not to.

2. Both of Nikola Jokic’s first two fouls came off of the same situation. Jokic stepped out on the perimeter to show on a pick-and-roll and then recovered behind the rolling big man only to end up fouling to prevent a rebound or dunk.

3. Mason Plumlee screwed up a defensive possession in transition by trotting back slowly and then committed an end of quarter foul that turned a near certain stop into an automatic two points. Plumlee might be the smartest player who routinely makes these kinds of mental errors.

4. The Nuggets seem to want Jerami Grant switching onto just about player. Usually power forwards and centers will try hard not to switch unless they have to but in the clip below, Grant guards a forward, center, and guard before getting the stop and finishing the fast break in transition. Back in the day you’d call Grant a hard hat and lunch pail kind of guy.

5. Sometimes the key to a solid defensive possession is being willing to just make things difficult on the offense, rather than trying to make a hero play. A wing attacking a center in transition is an extremely favorable situation for the offense but in the clip below, Mason Plumlee does a great job of making the play 20% harder for Mario Hezonja by using solid fundamentals and a willingness to make the smart play, not the big play.

6. This play perfectly illustrates Denver Nuggets basketball. They have advantages in transition right off of the bat but they use just a little bit of patience to turn that small advantage into a massive one.

7. An example of one of the league’s most common plays. “Corner option” or “C” is a remnant of the triangle offense. Here it works to get Jokic open for three. Look for a more detailed action of this play in a future episode of “What Makes This Play Great.”

8. Jerami Grant will draw a lot of fouls playing alongside Nikola Jokic thanks to Jokic’s ability to throw these fade route type passes when Grant creates a mismatch.