Denver Nuggets unofficial first-half report card

It’s been a very successful unofficial first half for the Denver Nuggets. Here’s how the team grades across the board.

Well, it’s hard to be too critical. At the All-Star break, the Denver Nuggets sit second in a loaded Western Conference with a record of 39-18 — the best to date in franchise history.

Jokic has made the step most fans hoped for — and quite honestly expected — playing well enough to get his named tossed on the ballot in most MVP discussions.

And coach Michael Malone and staff are gearing up for Sunday’s All-Star game after holding the best record in the West for most of the season.

But it hasn’t been without struggles — notably an early four-game losing streak and a much more recent three-game skid.

But the Nuggets have managed to right the ship every time it gets off course.

Let’s take a look at how they grade across the board

Front Court: A-

Jokic is the backbone of this Nuggets team. The fourth-year pro out of Serbia is averaging 20.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 7.7 assists on the way to his first All-Star bid.

He’s the guy the Nuggets want to take the last shot — and he’s proved he can make it.

Mason Plumlee has also played well — doing just about everything Denver has asked of him. He mans the floor as the backup center most times, but has also shown great ability to guard the 4-spot and play alongside Jokic.

Then why only an A-? The simple answer: Paul Millsap.

Millsap, Denver’s highest paid player, hasn’t been himself this season. He’s missed 11 games due to injury and has struggled to find consistency in the games he has played.

But, if a two-time All-Star averaging 12.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest is their biggest worry, the Nuggets are looking alright

Backcourt: B

The Nuggets starting backcourt of Gary Harris and Jamal Murray has shown flashes of being special.

Harris looked like a true scorer early in the season — before he started dealing with some nagging lower body issues. And Murray has shown he can put up points in bunches — notably 48 against the Celtics on Nov. 5 and 34 in the second half against Sacramento on Jan. 3.

But, they’ve only played 29 games together.

Fortunately for the Nuggets, they’ve received big contributions off the bench in the way of Monte Morris and Malik Beasley

Morris, the 56th overall pick in last year’s draft, is playing 25 minutes a game, averaging just under 11 points and four assists. He also leads the NBA in assist to turnover ratio (6.4) and sits ninth in 3-point shooting (43.1 percent).

Beasley has found similar success. In 24 minutes per game, he’s averaging 12 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 50.3 percent shooting from the field and 43.3 percent from deep — good for seventh in the league.

In seven games filling in four Gary Harris just before the break, he upped his scoring output to 20.8 per game.

With Isaiah Thomas making his Nuggets debut against the Kings — scoring eight points and dishing out two assists in just 13 minutes — this Denver backcourt could be deadly moving forward.

Defense: C+

Ahhh, defense. The Nuggets kryptonite last season.

But the Nuggets defense made strides over the offseason. And though their defense isn’t as stout as it was early in the year, it’s still much improved.

After being the top-ranked defense early in the year, the Nuggets have slipped a bit. At the All-Star Break, they sit an impressive 7th in opponent points per game (107.1) and are dead center of the pack at 15th in opponent field goal percentage (46 percent).

Last year Denver was 21st in points allowed (108.5) and let teams shoot a league-high 47.6 percent against them.

But the defense has slipped in recent weeks — culminating in a three-game losing streak to the Pistons, Nets and 76ers last week.

Depth: A

Their depth has been the Nugget’s calling card this season — well, it’s kind of had to been.

The Nuggets have led the league in Man Games Lost with nearly 250 games lost to injury this season.

But Luckily the Nuggets have got contributions from everywhere. Morris and Beasley have highlighted the impressive group of reserves, but it doesn’t end there.

Forward Jauncho Hernangomez played big minutes early in the season — mostly out of position at small forward — and developed a consistent 3-point shot.

Torrey Craig has also taken on an expanded role this year. The former two-way player signed a full NBA deal almost exclusively for his work on the defensive end. He’s continued to impress on that side of the ball and has continued to grow as a threat on offense.

Even end-of-the-bench guys like Jarred Vanderbilt have shown they can perform when called upon.

The only real disappointment from the second unit is forward Trey Lyles — who was slated as the sixth-man coming into the season but will most likely fall out of the rotation moving forward

Coaching: A+

Michael Malone and staff have exceeded just about everybody’s expectations. Most people picked the Nuggets to make the bottom half of the Western Conference playoff picture, and very few — if any — picked them above the four seed.

But Malone, who was rumored to be on the hot seat after missing the playoffs by a single game for the second straight year last season, has them in the second seed — after holding the top spot for most of the year.

He has them buying in on the defensive end like never before — and basketball nerds rave about the fluidity and flexibility of the Nuggets offense.

Overall: A-

Like I said, it’s hard to be too critical. Especially for a team that has missed the playoffs each of the past five seasons.

But there is still room for improvement — even if it is minor.  In stretches, the defense looks a lot like it did last year. And at times the offense does go stagnant.

But a 39-18 mark is hard to argue with. Malone and Co. have the Nuggets firing on all cylinders, and they will have a full team — sans Michael Porter Jr. — after the All-Star Break.