Denver Nuggets: Post-Game Teammate Grades vs. Miami Heat

It was round two against the Miami Heat for the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center Thursday night. The Nuggets took the floor looking to bounce back from their 119-116 loss at Miami earlier this season.

Denver had a slow start out of the gate and were outscored 28-20 in the first quarter. However the Nuggets overcame a deficit as large as 19 points in the third quarter to come within 3 with 1:37 remaining.  Unfortunately, they were unable to to come up big down the stretch as they lost 98-93 and fall to 4-5 on the season.

So how exactly did the Nuggets cast perform individually? Well, here’s my slightly bitter grade for each player’s overall performance in the loss.

Danilo Gallinari: B

Gallo ultimately cost Denver the game with a questionable pull up three that was missed in transition, but overall his performance was solid. He finished the night with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. So while stat line is pretty, his 6 of 16 shooting was not. (players will not appear if they played less than 15 minutes)

Kenneth Faried: A

https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/269301364910325760

Okay, so obviously it’s a gross interpretation of what Faried brings to the table, but it’s more right than wrong. Faried finished with an oustanding 18 points and 20 rebounds, improving his streak of double-doubles to five. After tonight he also leads the league in offensive rebounds per game(5.4). On the other hand, Faried shot an atrocious 5 of 16 from the floor and missed some key free throws down the stretch.

Andre Iguodala: C

It was very sub-par performance for an Iguodala, which was still about the average for any other starter. He finished the night with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists,  1 block and committed 3 turnovers. Looking for something spectacular in his production? Well, look elsewhere.

Ty Lawson: F

-Sigh- I don’t know whether to say that an F would be an understatement or that the Heat just effectively game planned against him. Either way, he finished scoreless on the night in 36 minutes, shooting 0 of 7 from the field. The lone bright spot was his 8 assists, which is a lot like finding a drop in the ocean.

JaVale McGee: A+

18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 9-12FG, 21 minutes. No, there aren’t any typos and there’s nothing more that needs to be said.

Corey Brewer: F

2 points, 2 rebounds, 1-8FG. Just, why? #WilsonChandler

Andre Miller: A+

https://twitter.com/NBAGuru/status/269316105007411200

https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/269318535266832384

Just another day at the office for Miller. He tossed up 19 points and 7 assists like he was at the Y. Maybe there’s a reason he made the All-Star ballot, just a thought.

Jordan Hamilton: C+

J-Ham can ball, and he showed glimpses of that tonight. So while a couple of his shots had coach George Karl cringing on the sideline, it was a decent performance overall. He finished with 11 points on 4-11 shooting and a respectable 3 of 7 from deep. It wasn’t exactly the kind of performance that’s going to have Hamilton racking up the minutes, but he’s looking like he has the potential to be a friendly option from downtown.

The Nuggets will now hit the road looking to snap their two-game losing streak against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 17th.

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