There’s plenty to digest in the Denver Nuggets home opening victory over the Phoenix Suns. From Nikola Jokic making history to the potential loss of Will Barton, Saturday night left Nuggets fans feeling ecstatic, but also worried.
In a game full of emotions, here’s five takeaways from the Nuggets victory over the Suns.
Nikola Jokic records his first triple-double of the season
“Anytime you are mentioned in the same breath as Wilt Chamberlain you’re doing something right,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said in regards to Jokic’s triple-double.
Jokic joined elite company by becoming just the second player in NBA history to have a 30-point triple-double while not missing a single shot from the field. The only other player to accomplish such a feat is, you guessed it, Wilt Chamberlain.
Right off the opening tip you could see what the Nuggets game plan was for the night — get Jokic the basketball. The Nuggets big man had the first seven points of the game and was constantly looking to go at Suns rookie Deandre Ayton. Jokic was attacking Ayton so much that the Suns subbed out their prized rookie just five minutes into the game.
Joker putting the first points on the board inside Pepsi Center this season!#MileHighBasketball https://t.co/2KGyFYj0Aa
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 21, 2018
Even with veteran Tyson Chandler matched up on Jokic, it still had no affect as the Nuggets big man was in attack mode. Jokic immediately went right at Chandler and made a tough layup through contact while drawing a foul. Just three possessions later, Jokic did the exact same thing, but this time he finished off the three-point play by making the free-throw.
After finishing the first quarter with 14 points while shooting 5-5 from the field, Jokic followed that up with an even better second period. He put himself on triple-double watch heading into halftime. Jokic scored 22 points on a perfect 7-7 from the field and also chipped in six rebounds and five assists in his 16 first-half minutes.
Even with as dominant as his first half was, Jokic matched it in the second half going for 13 points, six rebounds, and six assists. In 31 total minutes of action, Jokic shot a perfect 11-11 from the field, 3-3 from behind the three-point line, and 10-11 from the charity stripe.
Jokic even had MVP chants rained down from the Pepsi Center crowd on multiple occasions. Jokic thanked the crowd from after the game.
“Thank you (to the fans). It is early, but it think it is funny,” Jokic said when asked about the MVP chants.
If Jokic continues to play with the aggressiveness he showed tonight, who knows. Maybe the MVP chants may carry more validity with them if they are still raining down from the rafters come April. But nonetheless, Jokic’s 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, and four steals made for a very special night.
Will Barton leaves with a right hip injury
Just when the Nuggets starters were firing on all cylinders, Barton went down with a right hip or groin injury midway through the third quarter. After having a solid game for two and a half quarters, Barton made a reverse layup, but hurt himself on his takeoff. He was forced to be carted off the floor after being unable to walk off the floor under his own power.
Barton’s injury could be a potentially huge blow for the Nuggets. Barton is the heart and soul of this Nuggets team and is a player they rely so heavily on in that locker room as a vocal leader.
“He’s the voice of this locker room,” said Paul Millsap on Barton’s impact.
After earning a four-year, $54 million extension this offseason, the loss of Barton could weigh heavily on the Nuggets success this season. As the Nuggets starting small forward, Barton impacts the game in so many ways offensively and, most importantly, as a leader. That leadership is key for such a young team and it is tough for that to restate off the floor as opposed to on it.
“To see him carted off like that, you start to think the worst,” Malone expand after the game. “I am going to try to remain optimistic and hope for the best. Obviously, all of his teammates are in there giving him a lot of love which he needs.”
In the locker room after the game, Barton spoke to the media, saying his right hip felt, “real sore,” and that he felt a pop when the injury occurred. With an MRI scheduled for Sunday morning, all anyone can do is wait and see how long the Nuggets will be without Barton .
Nuggets starters follow Jokic’s lead offensively
The Nuggets starters are at their best when the offense is operating through Jokic, which Denver successfully accomplished on Saturday night. Just like with Jokic, Barton was aggressive early in the night scoring 10 points in the first quarter. Before he got hurt, Barton followed that aggressiveness so much that it ended with he and Jokic combining for 80 percent of the teams offense in the opening quarter.
It wasn’t just Barton who fed off it though. Jamal Murray also chipped in 13 first-half points highlighted by a three at the halftime buzzer. Murray doubled that number in the second half to finish the night with 26 points on 9-18 from the field, 3-7 from beyond the arc.
Jamal Murray puts a stamp on the 1st half!#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/HIExG2cnTW
— NBA (@NBA) October 21, 2018
Murray and Jokic weren’t the only ones to put up big point totals though. Every one of the Nuggets starters scored at least 14 points against the Suns. Barton finished the night with 14 points in just two and a half quarters, while Harris and Millsap chipped in 18 and 14 points, respectively.
89.9 percent of the Nuggets scoring came from their starting five as that unit combined to score 107 of Denver’s 119 points. Denver’s starters turned in a dominating performance on Saturday night.
Nuggets bench unit struggles
For a bench unit that played well all preseason, maybe a let down was to be expected. After the bench unit was subbed in to start the second quarter, the Suns responded by going on a 20-6 run to cut the Nuggets once 14-point lead to just two points. That forced the Nuggets to sub their starting unit in much sooner than they wanted, with Jokic checking back in with 8:43 remaining in the second quarter.
Luckily for the second unit, the Nuggets were able to weather the storm and outscored the Suns 35-33 in the quarter to still give themselves a 16-point lead going into the half.
The Nuggets second unit had a chance to redeem themselves midway through the third quarter, but another meltdown transpired. After the Nuggets starters pushed the lead to 26 points with 4:48 left in the third, most of Denver’s reserve unit came into the game. From that point, Phoenix had a 17-4 run to end the third quarter.
An inability to score was the biggest problem for the second unit. They combined to score just 12 of Denver’s 119 points on 5-24 shooting from the field. Mason Plumlee finished as the Nuggets leading scorer off the bench with four points to go along with seven boards.
Saturday was not the best performance from the second unit and that is putting it lightly, but hopefully it was just an anomaly for a group thats been so solid throughout the preseason. Luckily for them, they have a chance to right the ship with the Warriors coming into town to face off with Denver on Sunday.
How do the Nuggets respond Sunday night versus the Warriors?
After starting the season 2-0, how will this Nuggets team respond with the world champions coming into town Sunday night? After two solid victories to start the year, the Warriors game will provide a solid measuring stick for where the Nuggets are at early in the season.
These two teams split their season series last year and always put on a good show when facing each other. With both teams being such high-powered offenses, it will be interesting to see if the Nuggets defense continues to play at high level. After holding each of their first two opponents under 100 points, that may be hard to replicate against Golden State, but if the Nuggets offense continues to play well, they could come away with a victory on Sunday night over the Warriors.
The idea of playing without Will Barton is also something to watch on Sunday night. With Barton now being a starter, who slides into his place? Is it Torrey Craig or Juancho Hernangomez? Either way, both of those guys seem to be in line for more playing time if Barton does end up missing time. For Craig, he played well defensively against the Suns, but also fouled out in just 15 minutes. If Craig does start for Barton, it will be imperative for him to stay on the floor while still defending at a high level.