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Nuggets Beat Hawks by 30 After Embarrassing Defeat Against Wizards

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Brendan Vogt Avatar

Nuggets.GameGrades12 8 1

Nikola Jokić – A+

Nikola Jokić spoke up after an embarrassing loss to the Wizards Saturday night. He told Altitude’s Katy Winge that he expected a “reaction” after the Nuggets performed below standard again. That’s how things work where he’s from, anyway. It’s rare for Jokić to speak so candidly through the media and even rarer for him to offer any public challenge to his teammates. It seems the Nuggets heard their leader loud and clear. They responded with a 30-point win over the Hawks on Sunday.

If you’re going to speak up, you’ve got to show up. Jokić has done that all season long, and he followed up his futile 56 points in Washington with another 48 in Atlanta. He scored at will, dominated the glass, and hit timely cuts in a more inspired offense. I’m putting it mildly — Jokic eviscerated the Hawks.

After the game, Michael Malone revealed that Jokić spoke with the team again Sunday morning at his behest. If you’ve ever wondered, what more can one man do? There may have been an actual answer to that rhetorical question. Jokić is finding his voice as a leader. Now, the Nuggets must turn their immediate response into a sufficient long-term one.

Michael Porter Jr. – A

Porter played well against the Hawks after turning in one of the worst performances of his career against the Wizards. He can’t do much to get himself open with the ball in his hands, but he’s learned how to make himself a target without it. Cuts have become a real weapon for the Nuggets’ second-leading scorer. He benefits from routine height advantage and soft touch at the rim, not to mention playing most of his minutes alongside an all-time great playmaker. He’s also learning to leverage his reputation as a one-trick pony to his advantage. He catches defenders off guard by attacking closeouts or darting inside. That said, the Nuggets will need him to start hitting threes again soon. He shot 1/5 from distance against the Hawks.

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Christian Braun – A

Rebounds may be the most revealing statistic in any given box score for Christian Braun. At this point, you can pencil him in for a sufficient scoring performance. But Denver needs him to check other boxes, too, and typically, when Braun is playing confident, winning basketball, he’s also active on the glass. He grabbed 8 boards in Atlanta to complement his 17 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. As a scorer, CB did much of his work by cutting, making life easier for Jokić. The Nuggets cruised with him on the floor. He posted a game-high +34.

Aaron Gordon – C+

Gordon returned quickly after missing Saturday’s game with a nagging calf injury. It seems plausible that he may have sat this one out if not for the nightmare in DC and Jokić’s subsequent comments. Alas, Mr. Nugget answered the call, suited up, and posted 6 assists in nearly 23 minutes played. Gallantry aside, he did appear limited physically.

Russell Westbrook – A-

Westbrook is an elite passer, and when he starts in Jamal Murray’s absence, he spends a lot of time passing to an elite scorer. That elite scorer also happens to be an elite passer. You can see how Westbrook and Jokić might make sense on paper. That connection popped again in Atlanta. Westbrook finished with 11 assists through a Jokić-heavy approach.

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Westbrook also spent most of his night making Trae Young uncomfortable. To some extent, we can call it an off-night for a talented offensive force. Young played well below his standard and missed some good looks. But Westbrook’s defense also played a factor. Opposing guards have had it easy against Denver, and that wasn’t the case on Sunday.

Julian Strawther – B

Strawther was one of the few Nuggets to pull his weight against the Wizards, and he carried the positive momentum over to Atlanta. Defensively, he’s got a long way to go. He must score to justify his minutes. Strawther posted 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting against the Hawks. He led the Nuggets with 21:40 played off the bench and recorded a few assists, too. He’s now shooting 40.8% from 3 on the season.

Petyon Watson – C

Watson put together some nice defensive highlights and flashed his disruptive ability. But he largely faded into the background with only two shot attempts on the night and 4:26 played in the first half.

Jalen Pickett – B

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Pickett played backup point guard again in Atlanta and stuck to Jokić like a pup to its parent. Another Jokić-heavy approach led to five assists for Denver’s forgotten guard, and he even built enough confidence to take and make a couple of jump shots. This likely won’t lead to much for Pickett in the long term. When Murray returns, he won’t play. But it has to be a nice shot of confidence for a player who hasn’t gotten anything going yet at the highest level. He logged 17:18 of playing time in the win.

Hunter Tyson – B-

Hunter Tyson scored 5 points in almost 8 minutes on the floor. Malone turned to a ten-man in rotation in the blowout win—an improbable outcome for these beleaguered Nuggets.

DeAndre Jordan – C+

Jordan played backup big in Atlanta, where he was serviceable for Michael Malone and the second unit. He grabbed four boards and scored twice. Ideally, he could have absorbed 5 more minutes from Jokić.