Denver Nuggets’ starting point guard Jamal Murray was drafted for his playmaking and ability to shoot the ball from the three-point line and scouts often chided him throughout the pre-draft process for his inability to guard on the perimeter. And while Murray might not possess that ultra quick gene that the Russell Westbrook‘s, John Wall‘s and De’Aaron Fox‘s of the world do, he’s held his own on that end of the floor so far this season.
In Sunday’s win over the Nets, Murray limited D’Angelo Russell to 12 points on just 3-12 shooting. Russell came into his matchup with the Nuggets straight off a 15-point showing against the Knicks where he shot 6-10 and had already poured in 29 on the Magic and 30 versus the Pacers on opening night a couple weeks back.
Russell had a difficult time shaking Murray all night. And even when his shot went down, Murray was up in his grill, pestering the opposing point guard. Take this Nets’ basket for example. Russell finds nylon but Murray didn’t give him much room to breathe.
The play starts with Russell receiving the ball on the right wing from Jarrett Allen who immediately follows his pass and sets a ball screen on Murray. Murray sees the screen coming, jumps up into Russell and is able to sneak over the pick. Allen has to make contact with Murray here but good on the 20-year-old to recognize what was happening and reacting to it.
Russell then tries to shake Murray with what’s becoming his patented step back between the legs move but can’t get any distance between himself and the Nuggets’ point guard.
Then, Russell tries to get to the basket but Murray cuts him off. He’s forced to pull-up, slightly fade-away and hits the bucket. It’s two points for the Nets but a good defensive possession for Murray against an offensively gifted isolation player like Russell. Murray also has a great contest on the jumper.
Here’s another Russell possession from the very beginning of Sunday night’s matchup where Murray stonewalls him in the post.
Denver has played just six games and there’s a lot of noise around on/off statistics. But so far when Murray is on the floor, Denver is surrendering just 98.2 points per 100 possessions and when he’s sitting, the Nuggets are letting the opposition score 110.8. That’s the biggest margin on Denver’s roster out of players who have logged a significant amount of minutes.
In Denver’s 124-111 win over the Nets, Murray also registered a team-best 78.4 Defensive Rating, meaning when he was on the floor, Brooklyn averaged just 78.4 points per 100 possessions. Denver’s other point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who was on the court for the Nets’ big second-half run clocked in at a 138.8 DRTG.
With Murray, Nuggets’ coach Michael Malone never has to worry about effort. That was evident in Murray jumping over Allen’s screen and during countless other Brooklyn halfcourt sequences on Sunday. Murray finally found his jumper against the Nets and knocked down 8-14 from the field and 2-3 from distance, but the two-way potential of Murray is there and something to watch closely.
Jokic returns to The Garden
Remember last time Nikola Jokic played at Madison Square Garden?
Jokic scored a career-high 40 points on 17-23 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists in 29 minutes. Denver won 131-123 but it was Jokic’s coming out party for the national media. The 22-year-old has scored at least 18 points in four-straight games since his scoreless outing against the Kings in Denver’s home opener and is hitting his stride.
We’ll see what Jokic has for in store for Monday night (5:30 p.m. MST, ALT)
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″]Nuggets Starters
Jamal Murray
Gary Harris
Wilson Chandler
Paul Millsap
Nikola Jokic[/column]
[column size=”1/2″]Knicks Starters
Jarrett Jack
Tim Hardaway Jr.
Courtney Lee
Kristaps Porzingis
Enes Kanter[/column]
[/columns]
Injury Report
Juancho Hernangomez (mononucleosis) OUT
