Denver Nuggets Weekly Recap: Who’s Climbing And Who’s Stuck On The Ground

Michael Porter Jr. The Double-Double Machine – (9,000 – Riding Up The Scenic Byway)

Michael Porter Jr. has been on quite the tear lately, and no matter what the Nuggets are going through, it seems the youngster is able to keep his head down and get his job done. The 22-year-old continued his groove through last week, so we’ve got him riding up the Colorado Scenic Byway—the highest paved road in North America—and sitting just below the mountaintop this week.

He has become another double-double machine for the Nuggets, finishing off the week with three straight double-doubles. Granted, he has not expanded his game much past scoring and rebounding the ball, with his playmaking and defense still in need of some work, but what he is asked to do, he does very well.

Porter Jr. was on the climb this week, lighting up opponents to the tune of 21.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.8 triples on a 51 percent shooting from the field while playing 33.8 big boy minutes per night. He has also notched both a steal and a block in each of his past three games, which shows at least marginally positive growth on that end of the floor.

The Missouri alumnus has actually been playing unconscious for some time, shooting 50 percent or better in 17 straight games no matter whether the team won or lost, who they added at the trade deadline, or which of his teammates were in or out.

The streak was broken during that Celtics game because of course it was, but he still managed a 22-point, 11-rebound effort that included a couple of highlight-reel dunks despite a rough shooting night that saw him go 1-for-12 from deep.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1381328598053711878?s=20

If we know one thing, it’s that MPJ is the last guy to get phased by a rough shooting night, so expect him to keep shooting that thang and bounce back as he continues ripping it on up the Scenic Byway towards the peak of our Mount Evans weekly recap.