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Jerami Grant emerges as Denver Nuggets' X-factor in Western Conference Finals

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Jerami Grant scores with a lay-up in the Denver Nuggets' Game 3 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals
Image: Jerami Grant scores with a lay-up in the Denver Nuggets' Game 3 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals

With his agility and versatility, Jerami Grant has emerged as an X-factor for the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals at both ends of the court.

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Into the third and final year of the big free-agent contract he signed with the Denver Nuggets in the summer of 2017, Paul Millsap is winding down a fine career. He continues to start at the power forward position alongside Nikola Jokic, yet his production continues to dwindle.

In 17 postseason games this year thus far, Millsap is averaging 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. These averages are down from the 14.6 and 6.7 he recorded in the 2018-19 season, down further from the 24.3 and 9.3 he had averaged in his previous postseason appearance with the Atlanta Hawks in 2016-17, and down also on the 11.6 and 5.7 that he averaged in the regular season.

The playoffs are where you need players to step up, but thus far, Millsap has been a little short.

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To be sure, the Nuggets do not look to Millsap for regular high scoring, or indeed much of any basic statistical production. Instead, they look for him to cover the interior defense while also providing some offensive versatility as a background character. They utilise him as an occasional finisher in the paint and occasional shooter from outside, who offers a presence worth guarding without needing anything run for him, who makes extra passes and who tidies up when open.

However, a combination of his ever-decreasing lack of burst and the unfavourable match-up that is Anthony Davis has seen Millsap be largely ineffective in the Western Conference Finals thus far, and although he recorded six points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes in the Game 3 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, he was decidedly outshone by his back-up. And it is time that that back-up earned some praise.

Paul Millsap and Jerami Grant box out the Clippers' Marcus Morris Sr during the Western Conference semi-finals series
Image: Paul Millsap and Grant box out the Clippers' Marcus Morris Sr during the Western Conference semi-finals series

Despite already having a plethora of power forwards on their roster, the Nuggets traded for Jerami Grant last summer, because none of their incumbents could do what he could. He immediately offered a significant upgrade in athleticism over Millsap, Mason Plumlee and any of their other options.

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Grant's athleticism and ever-improving shooting accuracy gave the team a different look alongside 'The Joker', and with his 26-point performance in Game 3, he has shored up the Millsap-sized hole. He even drew some double teams.

Now that he is a shooter - his 38.9 per cent three-point shooting on the regular season following up on a 39.2 per cent mark last year - Grant is a good weak side and corners threat when both spotting up and cutting, an ideal combo alongside a passer like Jokic.

Also operating in the pick-and-roll and the occasional dribble-drive makes him a multi-faceted weapon who does not need the ball in his hands, nor to have plays run for him - in this respect, he is much like Millsap, yet he offers an extra dimension due to the added agility.

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Highlights of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers

More importantly, Grant has been using that agility and versatility to play defense all over the court. In our series preview of these Western Conference Finals, we wondered whether the Nuggets would have suitable defensive match-ups to be able to adequately contest the pairing of Davis and LeBron James, both of whom pose significant defensive questions for a Denver team that had not impressed on that end all season.

It turns out the answer to both of these questions has been Grant, who has played all across the frontcourt, including some time at back-up center.

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Primarily drawing the assignment on LeBron, Grant also helped to shackle Davis in Game 3. As discussed previously, part of defending a 'unicorn' such as Davis is accepting that there are some things you are never going to be able to take away from him.

However, that does not mean you should not try.

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Nikola Jokic throws a full-court pass to Jerami Grant for the score for the Denver Nuggets against the LA Clippers

Grant is a gamer, someone who plays with grit and determination, using his activity and very long arms to stay in front and contest, switching on the perimeter and contesting at the rim. Sometimes he is over-eager, sometimes he clatters through people, sometimes he gets into foul trouble, and sometimes he misses action off the ball. But put him on it, and he will give you some gusto. If he errs, it has been generally on the side of over-commitment - far more palatable than under-commitment.

When he came into the NBA, the question was whether Grant, a de facto combo forward who did not rebound like a power forward should yet who also did not have the perimeter skills for small forward, would be able to find his niche in the NBA.

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Over time, though, the advent of the switch-heavy era and increasingly position-less basketball has done wonders for him as an individual. It has empowered him to get all around the court and cause disruption while making himself open for as many lobs and dunks as possible, and he will do just that.

Although he has been steadily improving throughout his time in the NBA, this series has become something of a breakout performance for Grant, who has put behind him a difficult series versus the Clippers.

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Jamal Murray goes off for 28 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists in the Denver Nuggets' Game 3 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The offensive explosion in Game 3 is an outlier - it is his only 20+ point performance of the postseason and it came after two single-digit performances. Yet scoring in double digits is not really the purpose or the aim of Grant. His aim is to be bothersome. And at that, he has been excellent.

The Nuggets still need Millsap. He is still one of the smartest players in the NBA and is also a physical post defender who rotates smartly on both ends, along with offering some shooting and finishing of his own.

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None of the above is an argument for Grant instead of Millsap. It is, however, a perfectly justified thing to say that Grant has outperformed Millsap in this series so far, and at multiple positions, even as a small forward in absence of the injured Will Barton.

Checking LeBron, competing with Davis, hitting from outside and attacking the rim ferociously when given half a step, Grant was the difference in the Game 3 victory that Denver had to win. Perhaps in Game 4, he will be the X-factor once again.

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