The List: The Nikola Jokic / Jamal Murray two-man game is heating up

“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 Monday and the resurgence of the Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray two-man game.

1. The Nuggets opened the game with a phenomenal defensive sequence that required multiple efforts and micro-decisions to be made on the fly.

2. The Nuggets run this cross screen action for Nikola Jokic a lot but on this possession, they flip Jokic back to set a screen for Jamal Murray in the corner. Fun wrinkle that almost caught Ricky Rubio, one of the smartest point guard defenders in the league, off guard.

3. Gary Harris hasn’t quite caught fire from behind the three-point line this season and plays like this hint at one reason why he has fallen into a bit of a slump. Watch how he loses his balance before going into his shooting motion.

Contrast his footwork on that possession to the one on the possessions below and you can see the difference. When done properly, that pindown from the left side allows the right-handed Harris to step into his shot with his left pivot foot. Giving a slight jab stuns the defender and causes them to worry about the ball handler turning the corner. But the jab is slight enough that the shooter can remain balanced and get into the shooting motion quickly.

4. The biggest story from the win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night was the dominance of the Jokic-Murray two-man game. Not since the playoffs last May has the duo looked so in sync with each other. Six of Jokic’s 10 assists were to Murray and three of Murray’s seven assists were to Jokic. For reference, they each average roughly two assists to each other per game so far this season.

Just look at how perfectly the two played off of each other in this game.

If the Jokic-Murray two-man game is already at the level that it was in last year’s playoffs, the Denver Nuggets’ offense is probably in good shape.

Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!