Mid-Season Report Card: Nuggets

Jokić is an MVP candidate, but Murray has been inconsistent. If Denver wants to repeat next season's success, they need Bubble Jamal.

Quick turnaround

The four conference finalists of last season did not exactly have a good amount of rest heading into the 2020-21 season. Though the Lakers and Heat had even quicker turnaround than the Nuggets and Celtics, the lack of rest seemed to have thrown off all four teams.

The Nuggets had been hanging around the 7-10 range as far as seeding goes in the West, a far cry from their previous years of being top 3. Whether you attribute this drop off to the loss of Jerami Grant, there's no denying that Jamal Murray's inconsistencies have been harmful to Denver, and his all-out dominance in the Bubble may have drained him.

Joker card

Nikola Jokić has been phenomenal as he always is, but has been in serious contention for MVP this season right up next to LeBron and Embiid. The offense flows through him, and he is perhaps the best passing center the league has ever seen.

He is averaging 27 PPG, 11 RPG, and 8 APG which is nothing short of incredible, scoring a ton even with the likes of Murray and MPJ on the squad. It's also never talked about, but he's a few percentage points away from being in the 50/40/90 club as his FG% is 56, his 3P% is 41, and his FT% is 87. That is insane for a center, and the position has never seen someone reach that milestone.

Deadline

Bradley Beal would be so perfect alongside Jokić, but it seems as though he'll be staying with Washington for at least this season, and acquiring him would mean giving up Michael Porter Jr., which is interesting because of Porter's tremendous upside and ability to score at his height and from the the distance at which he can be effective.

Denver's front office should consider adding more shooting around Jokić, and maybe a backup center to eat some fouls.

Grade

C+