Following the Denver Nuggets’ November player report cards, there are fewer polarizing grades as the players have rounded into form, but there is still a great deal to highlight. The report cards will only include Nuggets who appeared in 5+ games in December and 8+ minutes per game in those appearances, indicating that they were in the rotation at one point or another.
Due to the 5-game minimum and 8-minute per game requirement, players like Trey Alexander and Zeke Nnaji will not be given report cards. That leaves us with 11 Mile High Basketball players to grade for the month of December, where Denver played absolutely no defense, but played in some fun games.
The player report card grades will be weighted in relation to the specific role and expectations of the player entering the month and to a lesser extent, entering the season. Which Nuggets displayed good basketball in December and which Nuggets will have better play be a part of their New Year’s resolutions?
The honors program hoopers (A- grades or better)
Nikola Jokic: A (October: A+, November: A+, Overall: A+)
Funny enough, December was Nikola Jokic’s worst month of the season… but it was still MVP-caliber and one of the best months from an NBA player ever. Denver’s megastar averaged 32.2 PPG, 12.6 RPG, and 8.4 APG in the month and despite having his worst shooting efficiency month of the season, he still shot 55.9% from the field and 45.2% from three.
The Nuggets’ MVP candidate has been surpassed by Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the latest MVP odds, but that has less to do with Jokic and more to do with the NBA standings and impressive Thunder record in comparison to the Nuggets. Jokic will look to continue to dominate in January.
Russell Westbrook: A- (October: C-, November: A-, Overall: B+)
Russ-Mania has been alive and well in December for the Nuggets. Westbrook has played in every game and spot-started 7 times in the month, putting up some incredible numbers for a player on a veteran-minimum contract. In 28.5 minutes per game, he averaged 12.0 PPG, 7.1 APG, and 5.1 RPG and just recorded his 201st triple-double.
In addition to those fantastic numbers, he also led Denver in steals per game at 2.1 and has won numerous Defensive Player of the Game chains from Coach Michael Malone. Westbrook has still struggled from the three-point line (22.2%) and the FT line (50.0%) in December, which is why it hasn’t been a true A performance, but Nuggets fans won’t mind the minor flaws.
Michael Porter Jr.: A- (October: C-, November B+, Overall: B)
Michael Porter Jr. has been solid for the vast majority of this season for Denver, despite the trade rumors that are swirling around him. Porter Jr. has averaged 18.9 PPG to go along with 5.8 RPG and 2.4 APG.
In addition to the respectable averages, MPJ has been wildly efficient, shooting 55.4% from the field and 42.7% from deep. He has had some prolific scoring quarters in December and has hit 3+ threes in his previous four games in a row. There is nothing stopping him from keeping this up and making his case for the Nuggets to keep him rather than trading him at the deadline.
Now the players who have had their ups and downs in the month of December!
The class average court-goers (C to B+ grades)
Jamal Murray: B (October: C-, November: D+, Overall: C)
Jamal Murray is finally in shape and playing well! Much like the last few seasons, the Blue Arrow has started out seasons slow but turned it on in December. He missed 3 games due to injury this month, but in the 11 games that he did appear in, he averaged 22.0 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 1.6 SPG.
He found his shooting touch this month as well, connecting on 42.4% of his three-pointers and an amazing 91.1% from the FT line. He is probably playing too many minutes to be sustainable at 38.1 per game, but it has helped with his conditioning. Additionally, he had three games in December with 10+ assists, so he is beginning to see the court better as well.
Peyton Watson: B- (October: D+, November: B+, Overall: C+)
Peyton Watson did not quite live up to his very strong November, where he started 10 games in place of Aaron Gordon, but his December was still a good showing. P-Wat showed flashes throughout the month, averaging 7.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.7 stocks per game.
The issue has been the consistency for Watson. Even with playing 17+ minutes in every game, the young forward recorded 5 or fewer points in half of his 14 games in December. Luckily, he did balance out his scoring inconsistency with nice shot blocking. Swatson enters January on a streak of 6 games with at least one block.
Aaron Gordon: C+ (October: B, November: NA, Overall: B-)
Aaron Gordon continues to deal with a nagging calf strain which caused him to only appear in 10 games in December, so this report card may be underselling him a bit. He returned from his initial calf strain with a 10-point and 4-assist performance off the bench against the Clippers but reinjured the same calf later in the month.
Ultimately he ended up with modest averages of 12.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 3.0 APG, which is fine, but he clearly struggled to find his groove in between the two calf strains. When he returns again from injury in January, hopefully he can take a step up for Denver.
Jalen Pickett: C (October: NA. November: NA, Overall: C)
Pickett makes his first appearance in the report cards after stepping in as the backup PG for three games where he played significant minutes, and recording a couple of minutes in a few other games as well. After balling out in the G League, the Penn State guard has shown why GM Calvin Booth drafted him in the 2nd round.
Pickett had a 5-point and 5-assist performance against the Atlanta Hawks earlier in the month and then later in the month had a great 11-point and 8-assist performance against the Phoenix Suns. He made 5/11 three point shots as well and looked very good in very limited minutes.
Hunter Tyson: C (October: NA, November: C, Overall: C)
Tyson is another player who has been in a very small role, but he is beginning to gain the trust of Coach Michael Malone. In 9.9 minutes per game in December he has provided energy and intensity off the bench as well as a good shooting stroke, connecting on 5/12 three-pointers in the month.
He is still a defensive liability that finds himself out of position at times, but his effort and length often make up for it and he has pulled down some very impressive contested rebounds in the last 5-6 games for the Nuggets. It will be fun to see how January treats the Monroe Menace.
Now for the players that need a mental reset in 2025…
The problem players (C- grades or lower)
Christian Braun: C- (October: A, November: A, Overall: B)
Christian Braun was absolutely crushing it for the first two months of the season, but in December he took a large step back and “regressed to the mean” in terms of his shooting and overall performance. In November he shot a wild 51.4% from beyond the arc for the entire month but in December, it took a 180 and he shot an abysmal 17.9% from deep.
Braun was targeted more on defense than he had been in prior months and while the poor defensive pieces around him hasn’t set him up for success, he has had issues navigating screens. His numbers dipped down to 11.5 PPG and 4.6 RPG in December, but he did recently have an 18-point fast break game against Utah to help build momentum entering January.
Julian Strawther: C- (October: B-, November: C-, Overall: C-)
Julian Strawther is the most peculiar player in the Nuggets bench mob so far this season. While he hasn’t played well, he seemingly still has the trust of Coach Michael Malone, either due to necessity or actual trust. The former Zag has the worst on-court numbers for the Nuggets this season and is by far the worst defender on the team that played minutes in December.
He does have some nice scoring prowess and has developed into a decent slasher and three-point threat, but the 33.3% clip from beyond the arc won’t cut it in the playoffs, especially as a negative defender. He averaged 9.4 PPG in 20.2 minutes per game in December and will look to make improvements in January.
DeAndre Jordan: C- (October: NA, November: C, Overall: C-)
DeAndre Jordan is doing his best at being a passable backup center at age 36. He has been better than Zeke Nnaji and Dario Saric. He can soak up 10-11 minutes a game to allow Jokic to rest. He is shooting 69.6% from the field, mainly because he only dunks. There really is not much more to it.
The Nuggets could and should still upgrade their backup center spot, as DJ cannot be their season-long plan for minutes there and he already has games in which it looks slow and stumbling. His play in December looked slightly worse than November based on the eye test, but he still averaged 3.2 PPG and 4.3 RPG in his 11.0 minutes per game in December.
Sitting at 18-13 entering the new year means that the Nuggets are just two losses out of the 2nd seed in the west but also a mere two losses away from falling to the 8th seed. January will loom large for how the rest of the season goes and which players may find themselves moved at the trade deadline for Denver, if any.