Why Jerami Grant could be the key to a Nuggets-Clippers playoff series

Jerami Grant is making $9.3 million this season, which comes out to $125,676 per game based on the 74-game regular season the Nuggets are playing this year. But Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, Grant worked double-time. He logged 28 minutes in the Nuggets’ 124-110 loss and spent the majority of his time on the floor shadowing, not one but two All-NBA wings: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

While Leonard tallied 26 points Wednesday, just four came when Grant was his primary defender, according to NBA.com tracking data (which can be a little wonky). In total, Grant guarded Leonard for 2:41 and on 11.4 partial possessions, the most of any Nuggets player. The Nuggets 6-foot-9 forward spent around the same amount of time guarding George — 2:28 to be exact — which was quite a bit less than the 4:56 that starting small forward Torrey Craig matched up with him for. George shot 0-6 from the field when guarded by Grant, per NBA.com, and was 2-5 from the floor against Craig.

Grant’s overtime shift against the Clippers was a preview of what could await him in the Western Conference semifinals. The Nuggets’ first-round matchup against the Utah Jazz was cemented Wednesday night, but if Denver makes it past Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert the second-seeded Clippers likely await.

If a playoff series between the Nuggets and Clippers does materialize, expect Grant to play more than the 28 minutes he logged Wednesday. The Nuggets didn’t run any of their top rotation players more than 30 minutes in their seventh seeding contest and across two regular-season matchups with LA, Grant averaged 31 minutes per game. With starting small forward Will Barton’s availability for the playoffs in doubt, Grant’s minutes could increase even more.

“Jerami offers you a guy who’s got tremendous size and length,” Michael Malone said. “You mention his versatility, something we’ve valued for a long time. Jerami’s role is going to be more pronounced as we move into the postseason.”

Here are two great examples of how Grant used his size to defend George on drives to the rim. While Craig is also a defender who the Nuggets will call on to check George and Leonard in a playoff series, Grant offers a longer 7-foot-3 wingspan. Grant uses his length well on both of these drives by George and also offers two strong contests at the rim.

Grant’s length is really valuable and he uses his size well when isolated on the wing. In the clip below, George gains separation by pushing off with his left arm, but Grant’s still able to stay somewhat connected and get a hand up to contest the shot.

Contrary to George, Leonard settled mostly for jumpers when he was guarded by Grant Wednesday. A flurry of Leonard jab steps and ball fakes didn’t stymie Grant much on either of these possessions and both shots were contested. One just went in and one didn’t.

The mid-range is the reigning Finals MVP’s sweet spot. Grant did all about he could.

Malone chided his team for their effort on the defensive end of the floor during his postgame Zoom conference, a fairly predictable message for Denver’s coach to send considering the Nuggets have the worst defense in the bubble and are allowing a grisly 122.4 points per 100 possessions. Denver had a 108.9 Defensive Rating during the pre-hiatus portion of the regular season.

Malone was particularly upset about the Nuggets’ on-ball defense, which has routinely been one of, if not the Nuggets’ biggest defensive downfall over the last several seasons.

“We need guys that can guard,” Malone said. “Too many guys right now are just matadors. We just get beat way too easy at the point of the ball.”

The defensive box score numbers against the Clippers weren’t pretty either — the Nuggets allowed 124 points on 54% shooting — but Denver’s defense over the first half was actually OK. The Clippers had only 50 points at the break and were shooting just 44% from the floor. The Nuggets were also out-rebounding the Clippers 27-18.

When asked about his concern level around Denver’s defense, Nikola Jokic offered this response.

“We’ve showed that we can defend. We’ve showed that we can not defend. I’m concerned but I’m not very concerned,” Jokic said. “Just because I think defense is one of the biggest parts of basketball. So if you cannot defend in this league then it will be a long, long night every night for you.”

Translation: I don’t think Jokic is too concerned. My read is that he knows the Nuggets can elevate their defense when it matters, and based on how potent offenses have been inside the bubble that may be Denver’s best course of action on that end of the floor. The fact of the matter is that the Nuggets aren’t going to hold the league’s top offenses down for the full 48 minutes.

No one is.

Jamal Murray cited a lack of communication when discussing Denver’s defense. As has been the case for the last several seasons, the Nuggets still don’t seem to be willing communicators.

“I feel like we just have a quiet group,” Murray said. “And we’re natural like that. If we keep having lapses like that on defense, something’s got to give. I just think we’ve got to talk more and sort out a lot of issues.”

Nevertheless, how Grant fared defensively against the Clippers was encouraging. He was superb on offense too, finishing with 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range to go with a bubble-high six rebounds. Grant’s now shooting 10 of 29 (34%) from 3-point range in the bubble. Another strong shooting performance in the Nuggets’ final seeding game Friday against the Raptors and Grant’s bubble 3-point percentage will closely mirror the 39% he shot from distance before the league suspended the season.

Grant also was able to get downhill often against the Clippers, both 1-on-1 against arguably the league’s best perimeter defender and when cutting to the rim off the ball.

“He was in attack mode,” Malone said.

When Jokic hit Grant on that athletic cut the rim he was playing small forward, a position the Nuggets have experimented with him at throughout their seeding games. If Grant continues to make the offensive and defensive impact that he did Wednesday, more small forward minutes alongside Jokic, Murray and the rest of Denver’s regulars will certainly come, especially if the Nuggets meet George, Leonard and the Clippers in the playoffs.

His two-way play could be the key to a potential playoff matchup against the West’s No. 2 seed.

“He’s unselfish on both ends of the floor,” Jokic said of Grant. “He’s sacrificing himself. I’m really glad to play with players like that.”