Denver Nuggets: Player grades from Miami
PG. Denver Nuggets. JAMAL MURRAY. C.
Jamal Murray last night was a tale of two-halves.
Murray did not score in the first half. He finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists. So, his grade is an aggregate of his first half D and his second half B.
With Gary Harris sidelined, the Nuggets have needed Jamal Murray to shoulder some of his load. Jamal has responded with mixed results. He seems to be pressing the idea of being that go-to guy. Pushing his game and shots instead of letting the flow come to him. It’s caused some turnovers and some uncharacteristic shooting.
Jamal thrives on confidence and it appears conflict. He appears to like being at odds with his opponent, which is a fantastic trait. Worked well for Barkley, worked to a lesser extent for Artest. The downside of using that conflict for motivation is the reputation that comes with it. We already see Jamal taking elbows and hips on way-too-hard screens. He’s getting hammered inside and pushed and bumped outside. Just that nothing beef with Luke Walton and suddenly referees are looking the other way at the young guard’s treatment. In a season when Jamal has already played the most minutes of his career the beating has to take a toll.
It’s one thing to be tough-as-nails, as it appears Jamal is, it’s another to have to absorb punishment from giants several nights a week. Andre Drummond should lose sleep over the hip-checks he was putting into Murray. He got hit on one drive last night, twice, in the face and the Heat players and fans still screamed about the call.
It’s a fine line, one that Murray has walked well. If he’s going to be punished for being a conflict guy, though, he may as well create some conflict.
Sure would be fun to watch.