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Jamal Murray: An advanced look

By Sean Taira

NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 4: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets smiles during practice on April 4, 2017 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 4: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets smiles during practice on April 4, 2017 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – APRIL 4: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets smiles during practice on April 4, 2017 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – APRIL 4: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets smiles during practice on April 4, 2017 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Unleashing Jamal Murray

Jamal Murray had a very promising rookie campaign and is considered a building block for the Nuggets going forward. Despite being 19, he showed he has the ability to get buckets and will continue to improve as a defender and play maker. By altering his game slightly, Jamal Murray can become truly dynamic.

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Like most rookies, one of the flaws that stuck out with Jamal Murray was his shot selection. One stat that stood out was his three-point percentage on catch and shoot, versus pull-ups. Jamal Murray shot 77 for 204 for a respectable 37.7% on catch and shoot opportunities, versus 36 for 126 for 28.7% on pull-ups. Pull-ups are a much tougher and lower percentage shot. Next year Murray should look for more catch and shoot opportunities, and get away from taking so many pull up threes.

Another thing that stood out was how little Jamal Murray was used on cuts. Part of this is by design, and part of it is standing around when he doesn’t have the ball. Cuts are the most efficient way of scoring, and cuts only accounted for 4.3% of his scoring opportunities. Compare that to Gary Harris at 12.2%, which is a drastic difference. Gary Harris scored 1.39 points per possession, barely besting Murray’s 1.35. The efficiency is quite similar, however the volume is not.

Jamal Murray was very effective shooting right corner threes going 18/33 for 54.5% (per nbasavant.com). It is a small sample size, but Murray should try to get more looks from there. Murray also shot below league average at the rim, shooting 55.9%. Opponents will have to give Murray more space if they respect his ability to finish at the rim.

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Jamal Murray appears to suffer from irrational confidence, which is a good and bad thing (see Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters). He will take awful contested shots at times, and needs to continue to score in the flow of the offense. However, in the playoffs when the defense improves and the scoring slows, having a guy who can “get buckets” (see Kyrie Irving) is sometimes the only way to beat good defense.

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