At the end of the day, more than anything else, the Denver Nuggets just need to win games. The team is clearly far from perfect, but it’s a long season and they have time to make changes and figure things out.
But what they can’t afford is to dig a big hole in the standings in the meantime. And for all the issues that have plagued the team, Nikola Jokic and company have done a damn good job of holding down the fort and doing just enough to get by.
That’s exactly what happened on Sunday as the Nuggets got down by as many as 17 points to the injury-ravaged, lowly New Orleans Pelicans before storming back for a sweaty overtime win, 132-129. As bad as the vibes feel around this Nuggets team right now, they’ve won four out of five, they’re up to 15-11 on the season, and up to 5th place in the Western Conference.
All things considered, things could be a lot worse. But beyond the obvious roster issues, this game had some ugly moments that had fans wondering if the team had quit. The effort wasn’t good enough and apparently coach Michael Malone was disappointed with the effort of one player in particular.
Michael Porter Jr. benched for entire 4th quarter and overtime
In a fascinating twist, Michael Malone took Michael Porter Jr. out with just over 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter after MPJ had gotten beat badly on defense. Malone did not put Porter Jr. back in the game after that moment, closing with Russell Westbrook and giving more minutes to Christian Braun and Julian Strawther.
Again, the most important thing for the team is winning games and if Malone feels that was more accomplishable without MPJ, then so be it; clearly it worked. But it’s not a great sign amidst all kinds of trade rumors swirling around Porter Jr. to see him getting buried on the bench for the end of close games.
The team needs MPJ’s shooting, scoring, and rebounding. He has been one of their best and most reliable players this season and this performance was out of character. But for Malone to bury him so willingly is a bit concerning.
Porter Jr. looked disengaged at times and it’s fair to wonder if the rumors are getting to him. He didn’t exactly look like a guy who was inspired and motivated out on the court. The Nuggets can’t afford to get this kind of effort consistently out of one of their key players, so something has to give.
If this is the end of the line, the team should hurry up and deal Porter Jr. away, so all parties involved can move on and the Nuggets can focus on the future. But if not, then MPJ needs to get out of this funk and Malone needs to instill some confidence back into a player that the team needs.