They’d by no means admit it publicly, however the Denver Nuggets needed to be fairly nervous about the best way Jamal Murray kicked off his 2024-25 season. They had been prepared to brush off a disappointing 2024 postseason and a disastrous Olympic run with Canada over the summer time once they gave him a brand new, max contract extension, however his efficiency early on was hardly commensurate along with his new compensation. Murray averaged just below 18 factors per sport on 42% taking pictures in his first 17 video games this season. Nice numbers for many gamers however not acceptable for somebody making what Murray is making.
On the heels of a second-round postseason exit, Denver misplaced beginning taking pictures guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope within the offseason. They misplaced Bruce Brown and Jeff Inexperienced a 12 months prior after profitable the NBA title. In the event that they had been going to beat these absences, they wanted their greatest gamers to present them extra, not much less. However the recurring results of accidents that started final season took a toll. Murray struggled and so did the group.
However over the previous month or so, Murray has slowly rounded again into kind. In his final 15 outings, Murray is again above 20 factors per sport. Denver is 10-5 in these video games. Murray is attending to the rim extra steadily, and he is taking pictures a greater share as soon as he will get there. Most significantly, although, the 3s are beginning to fall once more. He is making 42% of them in that stretch, and on Tuesday in opposition to the Dallas Mavericks, Murray made nearly every thing — notably within the first half.
The tally by 24 minutes: 32 factors on 12 of 15 taking pictures and 4 of 6 on 3s. Murray’s season-high for a whole sport coming into Tuesday was 34 factors. The 32 he scored within the first half in opposition to Dallas was adequate for second place by itself.
And by the point the ultimate buzzer sounded on Denver’s 118-99 victory, Murray had tallied 45 factors on 18 of 26 taking pictures. It was his greatest particular person scoring effort since he tied his career-high of fifty on Feb. 19, 2021.
Murray’s re-emergence key to Denver’s title hopes
Sure, the Mavericks had been with out key rim protector Dereck Vigorous for a lot of the half on Tuesday, however Murray’s photographs got here from in every single place. He made two photographs within the restricted space, 4 in the remainder of the paint, 4 from mid-range and 4 from behind the arc. That is the kind of diverse scoring sport that has made Murray so harmful previously. His two-man sport with Nikola Jokic has been so dominant partly due to its unpredictability. Each of them can rating and set one another up from anyplace on the court docket, however a hobbled Murray could not fairly do his half.
However now he is slowly beginning to spherical into kind, and that has vital implications for the Nuggets and the remainder of the league. Even when 20 factors or so per sport does not sound particularly spectacular, keep in mind that Murray has by no means topped 21.2 per sport in a full season. He has by no means posted gaudy regular-season numbers. What issues right here is his well being. That he is beginning to play according to his typical regular-season degree suggests he’ll be able to scale up within the playoffs as he virtually all the time has.
Earlier than final season, Murray averaged 25 factors per sport within the playoffs. That’s the model of Murray that gained Denver a championship, and that’s the one the Nuggets are hoping will be capable of peak when the climate will get heat. This enchancment is the primary actual signal that the Nuggets have had all season that he is coming.
And if he does? That adjustments Denver’s total commerce deadline calculus. The Nuggets have been linked to star guards like Zach LaVine partly as a result of Murray’s struggles hinted at a necessity for extra shot creation. They actually nonetheless need assistance for his or her bench, however their major lineups that includes each Murray and Jokic have thrived offensively on this stretch. Denver has little or no to commerce with and is already pressed up in opposition to the second apron. If the Nuggets can keep away from a significant reshaping of the roster, they’d seemingly desire to.
This model of Murray makes that choice a bit extra palatable. If he retains this up, a Nuggets group that in vital decline would possibly be capable of play its approach again into the Western Convention title race in spite of everything.
