In the first of many Denver Nuggets player report cards to come, the sample size is small, but these early trends in player performance could impact their rotation for November. These player numbers only apply to players who played more than 8 minutes per game, which essentially indicates that they were part of the rotation when they were healthy for a month.

Because of this eight-minute break, there are only nine players to review in the October report. In the coming months, this number will likely increase as players rest or deal with injuries, but for now the perceived playoff rotation is all there is to judge… and there are some concerns.

The Nuggets lost their first two games of the season, both at home, against the Thunder and the Clippers. They then went on the road and battled two non-playoff teams in the Raptors and Nets, needing overtime to win in both games. 2-2 certainly isn’t the end of the world, but it’s clear that some Nuggets players have started better than others.

The numbers are weighted based on the specific role and expectations the player had at the start of the month (in this case, the start of the season). Which players are the standouts of October, which players have lacked quality so far and which players are in between?

Nikola Jokić: A+

There have been a lot of question marks surrounding the Nuggets this season, but three-time MVP Nikola Jokic isn’t one of them. He is as dominant as ever and appears to be on his way to another MVP-caliber season.

The Joker is averaging 31.5 PPG, 12.3 RPG and 9.3 APG, which goes along with 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. He has taken the term ‘stat-stuffer’ to a whole new level. Not only are his numbers insane, but he does this on 57/55/78 shooting splits, which is insanely efficient. Jokic may be the only reason Denver isn’t currently 0-4.

Christian Braun: A

Following the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, many NBA analysts didn’t believe Chrstian Braun could step in as the fifth starter without any growing pains. Despite this, Braun was an absolute delight for Denver and one of the few true non-funny bright spots. He has worked well with the starting unit in attack and has also strived in defense.

CB has averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.8 shares per game as he continues to grow more comfortable playing huge minutes for Denver. His 1.8 blocks per game leads the entire team and his 53.8% FG shooting ranks third on the team. Even his shooting from beyond the arc isn’t half bad: he’s shooting 36.4%, good for 4th on the Nuggets.

Then the middle-of-pack figures are distributed to 3 specific players