Entry 11: "What A Win For The Denver Nuggets"
The First Blow Out Of The Season Should Have The League Scared
By: Liz
October 29, 2023
The Denver Nuggets just can’t seem to slow down, continuing exactly what they started in the Finals last season. What a special time this is, there’s really no better time to be a Denver Nuggets fan than now. After a beautiful performance this afternoon against the Oklahoma City Thunder, your Nuggets are now 3-0 to begin the 2023-24 season. So I ask you this one question, do you as a fan believe this team can repeat this season? I do.
Before I get off topic, let’s discuss the game. The final score was 128-95, a 33 point victory for the defending champs as well as the first blow out of the season. For starters, the Nuggets held Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 3 points in the first half [0/9 shooting, 3/4 FT], leading to his worst shooting game of the season so far, but more on that in just a minute. Peyton Watson had another phenomenal game, really the majority of the bench had phenomenal games today, but more on that later.
On Oklahoma City’s side of things, SGA had 7 PTS on 2/16 shooting [roughly 13%] and 7 AST in a little over 28 minutes, and Jalen Williams had 13 PTS on 6/9 shooting [roughly 67%] and 5 AST in about 28 minutes. Chet Holmgren had his “Welcome to the NBA” game against Nikola Jokić today, and even though Jokić had a better performance, Holmgren did not disappoint today. He ended with 19 PTS on 7/12 shooting [58%, 4/4 FT] and 4 REB in about 26 minutes. However, Denver just couldn’t stop themselves.
On Denver’s side, every person on the court played extremely well. I’ll begin with the starters. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 7 PTS on 2/5 shooting [40%, 1/4 from the 3], 3 REB, and 2 STL in about 30 minutes, and Aaron Gordon had 9 PTS on 4/7 shooting [57%], 3 REB, and 3 BLK in 23 minutes. However, the other three were really the stars of today’s game. Michael Porter Jr. had 20 PTS on 8/14 shooting [57%, 4/7 from the 3] and 9 REB in about 25 minutes, Jamal Murray 19 PTS on 9/14 shooting [64%] and 8 AST in about 30 minutes, and, of course, Nikola Jokić ended this game with 28 PTS on 12/16 shooting [75%, 1/2 from the 3], 14 REB, and 5 AST in about 30 minutes. Not quite a triple-double, but another double-double to add to the list of Jokić accomplishments.
Now, let’s talk about the bench. A very impressive game from Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, both in double figures, and a new career high. Braun had 13 PTS on 4/9 shooting [44%, 5/5 from the line], 7 REB, and 7 AST in 21 minutes, impressive on both ends of the floor. However, Watson really shined today, ending the game with 17 PTS on 8/11 shooting [about 73%; also a new career high for him] and 4 REB in 21 minutes off the bench. He seems to have taken Michael Malone’s words seriously and is doing everything in his power to earn a permanent spot on the bench. Julian Strawther also scored his first NBA regular season points today, draining a 3 to get his first bucket and ending with 8 PTS on 3/5 shooting [60%], 1 REB, and 1 AST in about 8 minutes.
I got some opinions from my friends and mutuals on X about today's game, and I would like to share their thoughts as well as add on to what they have said here.
To begin, my dear friend Ray was very impressed by Michael Porter Jr. today, stating, “MPJ seems to have found his jumper. If he can find his defensive form again, it will be huge for this team.” I happen to agree with him here, it’s evident that Porter Jr. is beginning to feel like himself again after spraining his ankle during training camp. There is always room for improvement on the defensive end, not only with him, but he’ll definitely work on it throughout the rest of the season.
Another friend of mine, going by the title Denver Disciple on X, explained how he felt about the way Zeke Nnaji was on defense today. “The bench unit’s physical play allows them to outshine any flaws with pure grit. Zeke Nnaji is a huge part of that.” While Zeke did go scoreless today, he managed to grab 3 REB and had a +/- 12. We will definitely need to see more scoring happening from him going forward, but his defensive skills have very much improved thus far.
Crouton, another friend of mine, expressed his opinion on Peyton Watson, stating, “Peyton Watson has the characteristics of an All NBA defender. [He] could be the glue for a lot of our lineups going forward.” With the way Watson is playing, I honestly can agree that he could (and should in my opinion) make at least one of the All NBA defensive teams this season. He is also already/going to be a major part of the bench unit going forward.
And the final quote comes from my dear friend, PwatMuse, who was and is constantly impressed by Peyton Watson. “Peyton Watson went from developmental player to G-League stud to a top 10 defender in the league. A perfect fit on the Denver nuggets.” I do agree that Watson is a perfect fit for this Nuggets team, but we haven’t seen enough this season to determine whether or not he should be considered a top 10 defender in the league just yet. However, if he continues down the path he is going down now, he will definitely be considered for it.
There is still a long way to go from here, but beginning the season undefeated after reaching the top of the NBA world is very impressive.
References:
NBA.com (October 29, 2023) Jokić Powers Nuggets In OKC: Box Score NBA https://www.nba.com/game/den-vs-okc-0022300095/box-score#box-score