Nuggets Roundtable: Who needs to step up in Game 3?

Nuggets-Suns shifts to Phoenix on tonight for Game 3 of Denver’s first-round series. Who do the Nuggets need to step up? What adjustments are coming from the Suns? And what needs to happen for Jamal Murray to get back on track? DNVR Nuggets discusses.

Who do the Nuggets need to step up in Game 3?

Adam Mares: Jamal Murray. 

The Suns were smart to focus their game plan around Murray, You can’t stop Jokic and no one else has the impact on the game that Murray does. But while the Suns’ strategy was smart, Murray needs to be a player that is above these kinds of adjustments. The Nuggets aren’t winning a championship if Murray can be disrupted the way he has been at times in the Timberwolves series and now this Suns series. He’s got to find ways to punish teams for crowding his space, getting physical, and wearing him down. 

Harrison Wind: Michael Porter Jr.

Porter has scored 8, 11, and 5 points across his last three games (Game 5 vs. Minnesota, Game 1 vs. Phoenix, Game 2 vs Phoenix). He’s shooting a combined 3-13 over that stretch too. Porter hitting a couple of triples early in Game 3 would be massive for Denver. In fact, I think it should be front and center in the Nuggets’ game plan for tonight. Get Porter going early, and let your offense flow from there. The Suns are going to hit more shots in Games 3 and 4. That’s just the nature of coming back to play at home in a playoff series. And I think the Nuggets have to be better on offense than they were in Game 2 to win tonight. A Porter Quarter, or game is one way of ensuring that happens.

Brendan Vogt: Jamal Murray.

It’s likely already demoralizing having lost the game Murray shot so poorly in. If he bounces back immediately it could be enough to break them. Obviously, the Suns have their own plans for how to guard and where to funnel Murray, but he missed some open jumpers in game two. Coming off rest, he’ll get an opportunity to rip hope away from the opponent. Playoff Murray is too good to be schemed out of a game. Drop a reminder game of your own, 27. 

What adjustments are coming from Phoenix?

Mares: I think Booker and Durant are going to be quicker at attacking off of the catch. The Nuggets have done a great job of doubling the ball when it’s in their hands but the Suns have made that job easy on the Denver defense by letting their stars size up the court for too long. In game 3, I think they make quicker reads and try to get into the paint one way or another. 

Wind: We’re likely going to see some new faces in the Suns’ rotation in Game 3. Terrence Ross? He’s a…shooter. Kind of. Ross shot 34.7% from 3 this season and is a career 30.6% 3-point shooter in the playoffs. What about TJ Warren? I bet we see him too. Warren can at least, theoretically, score. But I don’t see either one making that much of a difference in Game 3. Sure, Ross or Warren could hit a couple of 3s and go on a mini run, but they’ve got to defend too. The story of Game 3 will be if the Nuggets make their 3-pointers. If they do, Denver should win again. The Suns don’t have any options they can turn to that improve their defense. That’s the biggest problem Phoenix is facing, especially with Chris Paul out for Game 3 and likely for the entire series. Cam Payne could start tonight. That’s barbecue chicken.

Vogt: I’m most curious about how they guard Nikola Jokić. They dared him to beat them one-on-one in the post and he kindly obliged. He can do that all day long. Monty Williams doesn’t want to double, Jokić very much wants them to double. Did he do enough to scare them into a panic move? Through two games, we’ve seen a Murray game and a Jokić game. The Suns sending help when the big fella has the ball could trigger a Nuggets game. 

How does Denver get Jamal Murray going again?

Mares: The Nuggets will likely build in some counters to free up secondary entries to their offense and take advantage of the fact that Murray’s defender is not operating as a team defender off-ball. But no one can help Murray more than Murray. He needs to make shots when he’s open and draw contact when defenders are smothering him on the perimeter. Torrey Craig and Josh Okogie are good but better defenders await in the upcoming rounds. 

Wind: I just watched Murray’s nine missed 3s from Game 2 and I feel very optimistic about how he’ll play in Game 3. Like Murray said after his worst game of the playoffs, those are shots he usually hits. Most of those 3s were wide open and in-rhythm. They weren’t even well-defended. I think the rest — the Nuggets have had the last three days off — is really going to help Murray, and fresh legs is the biggest reason why I predict he plays well in Game 3. But Denver can still help him out. The Nuggets should take some chapters from the Nickeil Alexander-Walker playbook that they used against Minnesota. Playing Bruce Brown, who can operate as the Nuggets’ point guard, alongside Murray would be the move.

Vogt: This reminds me of the NAW discussion from round one. Yes, Denver can build in counters and find ways to free Murray up. It’s also true that Murray will simply transcend the hopeful limitations of a game plan. He left points on the board with missed shots. He looked exhausted early into the game. Coming off rest, he might just torch them regardless of coverage.