The List: A key detail you might've missed on Jamal Murray's game-sealing dunk

“The List” is a brand new series that serves as a companion piece for the “Notebook” episodes of the Locked on Nuggets podcast and the DNVR Nuggets podcast. In this edition, I share notes on Nikola Jokic’s defensive energy, what near-perfect defense looks like, and Jamal Murray’s game-sealing dunk against the Orlando Magic on Saturday.

1. You don’t have to be a basketball genius to see just how lazy and disengaged Nikola Jokic was to start this game. Jokic played over eight minutes in the first quarter and did not record a single stat outside of a lone foul. No rebounds, no assists, no points, and not even a single field goal attempt. Michael Malone’s challenge to come out more aggressive apparently fell on deaf ears.

But an offensive slump is one thing. To give this kind of effort on the defensive end is another.

And just look at this effort in transition, where Jokic jogs back before allowing Aaron Gordon to walk into a rhythm three-pointer from the center of the court. If you look closely, you can see that Gordon has time to slow down and set his feet for the easiest transition three he will get all year.

Jokic’s “emotional slump” is affecting every part of his game, not just the offense.

2. I’m aware of how much I’ve been hammering home some of the same talking points throughout the first two weeks of this column and I don’t want to beat a dead horse too often but the two clips below provide a nice example of a new detail and new perspective on the way the Nuggets are failing to get into their flow offense because of Torrey Craig’s offensive limitations.

In this first clip, which happens to be the first play of the game, the Nuggets keep the ball on one side of the court for an entire possession because they are almost completely averse to utilizing Craig as an offensive weapon. As a result, their offense becomes extremely repetitive and predictable.

Contrast that clip to this one of the second unit as they keep the ball moving and flow from one action to the next, dragging the defense from one side of the court to the other as they force several rotations.

The Nuggets need to either commit to trusting Craig more as a ball-handler in dribble handoffs (DHOs), limit the amount of time that he spends in lineups that use Nikola Jokic, or alter their offense to play more deliberately through Jokic in the post in isolation. That last option isn’t the best use of Jokic, but there is no sense running a flow offense if two of the five players on the court are never involved.

3. When Michael Malone talks about Michael Porter Jr. “earning” his minutes, plays like the one below are the types of things that he is talking about. Porter Jr. is a phenomenal offensive rebounder but gives much less effort on the defensive glass. In the clip below, Porter Jr. relaxes for two seconds which is enough time for Gordon to create a three-point play opportunity. Porter Jr. isn’t the only Nuggets player to make these types of errors, but in order to earn Malone’s trust, Porter must eliminate these entirely for long enough to work his way into the lineup.

4. I’ve pointed out how Craig doesn’t always make the right read as a weak-side cutter but here is one example of him making a perfectly timed cut that results in two free throws.

5. Jokic against young and undisciplined defenders is one of the most lopsided matchups in sports. There is a reason that Mo Bamba fouled out in just 10 minutes of action on Saturday night.

6. The Nuggets went to their all bench lineup to start the 4th quarter but replaced Porter Jr. with Juancho Hernangomez. Juancho is among my favorite floor spacers but a shot creator he is not. With Will Barton still nursing a sore toe, the Nuggets were thin on play-makers to slot alongside that second unit and as a result, you got quite a few of these clunky possessions with no one able to take advantage of mismatches or collapse the defense off of dribble penetration.

7. There were a dozen great moments in this defensive possession and one tiny mistake.

8. Jamal Murray’s tomahawk dunk was the de facto game winner since it gave the Nuggets a five-point lead with 35 seconds to go and while Murray made a great move to get passed the first line of defense, Paul Millsap made a subtle cut to make sure that Murray had an open lane to the basket.

9. Porter Jr.’s instincts as a cutter are through the roof, and Jokic knows it. I absolutely love the way that Joker reads the court and knows exactly where Porter Jr. will be before making his move. This is the future of the Denver Nuggets. Hopefully a future not too far away.