The List: Comparing Gary Harris and Jamal Murray in the pick and roll

“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 some notes on the win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday.

1. In basketball, the term “gravity” refers to how much an offensive player “pulls” his defender toward him. It’s often equated with shooting prowess since players who can shoot can’t be left open so their defenders are always being “pulled” toward them, even when they are away from the ball. But there are actually several types of gravity, most of which are a bit more subtle.

In the clip below, Paul Millsap provides a phenomenal example of box out gravity. Watch how he gets Ricky Rubio to push back against him as he fights for rebounding position and how that fear of giving up the rebound prevents Rubio from helping in the post.

2. Most plays in the NBA are designed to flow right into read and react basketball or some form of spread pick-and-roll (PnR). In the clip below, the Denver Nuggets struggled to segue from one action to the next.

3. Torrey Craig provides a lot of smart energy on the defensive end but he often gets caught giving foolish energy. The clip below is an example of him trying to make a play but instead putting the Nuggets in a four-on-five disadvantage.

4. Another great example of Torrey Craig failing to make the weak side cut that can make him so useful as an off ball floor spacer.

And again off of a post-up.

5. Gary Harris has been in a bit of a slump with his PnR decision making to start the season and a lot of it stems from his inability to attack the big once he turns the corner. In the first clip, watch how he settles for a floater because he picks up his dribble before he can force the rim protector to make a play on the ball.

In the second clip, watch how he keeps his dribble alive long enough to get closer to the rim and draw the rim protector away from Nikola Jokic, who grabs the easy put-back.

6. The Nuggets have Jerami Grant switching onto guards or forwards without hesitation. But while Grant himself is handling those switches nicely, the guards behind him aren’t always as locked in and capable of making unfamiliar reads.

7. Jamal Murray provides a nice contrast to Gary Harris as a PnR playmaker. He’s incredibly crafty with his footwork and utilizes change of pace, long strides, and an off-foot finish to force the defense out of position to contest his attempt. These are all really difficult reads to make and he has trained himself to feel these reads without hesitation.

8. Here is a great play that the Nuggets will likely go to a lot this season when Malik Beasley and Jerami Grant are both on the court together. Beasley sets a back screen for Grant to receive a lob pass and the threat of that lob pulls Beasley’s defender into help side long enough for Beasley to release for a wide open three-pointer. Extremely difficult to defend.

9. Grant is an under rated passer. Here he makes a pretty high level delivery to Plumlee from a tough angle along the baseline. I think this part of Grant’s game will really shine the more he plays in Denver’s egalitarian style of offense.

10. Consider this example number 350 of the young season of how hard Grant plays when he is on the court. He manages to go from fronting the post, to challenging the shot, to grabbing the rebound despite being out of position all in the matter of two seconds. These are winning plays and often thankless plays and they are plays he makes every time he is on the court.

11. Grant provided another great example of that perfect cut off of a Jokic post up. With Grant in between two shooters on the weak side opposite the ball, he perfectly times a cut to the basket for an and-one. This is textbook stuff for how to make the defense pay for helping in the post on Jokic. Contrast this clip to the one in example four of Craig failing to cut off of a Monte Morris drive. Very similar setup and opportunity but completely different results.

12. Denver ran this wedge action about seven times in a row down the stretch of the fourth quarter. It’s a very simple action that is designed to either get a Jokic post-up or a Murray-Jokic PnR with three shooters spacing the floor on the other side.

13. In the 4th quarter, Murray set a ball screen for Grant in the PnR and drew a foul on Frank Kaminsky. Murray and Jokic run this action a lot but this is the first time I’ve seen Murray screen for Grant and I would bet it is one of the very few times that Grant has received a ball screen from a point guard.

14. This is a play that the Nuggets will likely never run again with this lineup.Sort of a comical failure.

15. Appreciate Nikola Jokic. He is truly a one of a kind.