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A look at Jamal Murray’s defensive improvements

By Mathew Huff

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 23: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets speaks with Monte Morris #11 during the second half against the Sacramento Kings at Pepsi Center on October 23, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. 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. (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 23: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets speaks with Monte Morris #11 during the second half against the Sacramento Kings at Pepsi Center on October 23, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. 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. (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Nuggets’ starting point guard, Jamal Murray, may be having a streaky start, but what is going overlooked is his defensive improvement.

The Denver Nuggets are off to a hot start to start the season. Despite losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, the team still has a lot of promise which includes one Jamal Murray.

Murray has started off a little rocky offensively to start the year. He had double double in the loss to the Lakers, but also had a 0-9 game from the field in the big win over the Golden State Warriors.

However, he has actually improved his craft on the defensive end of the floor. Not only is he averaging a steal per game, he is also doing solid against whoever he has been matched up with so far.

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For example, he only let Lonzo Ball score seven points against him in the loss to the Lakers. He even got the job done against Patrick Beverly (22 possessions), De’Aaron Fox (18 possessions) and Josh Jackson (16 possessions) as he did not allow them to score a single point when matched up with Murray.

Against the Phoenix Suns, he only allowed his Kentucky Wildcat counterpart, Devin Booker, to only three points in 11 possessions. In the season opener against the Clippers, Jamal had an outstanding defensive rating of 79.1. Keep in mind, any defensive rating below 100 is considered extremely valuable.

In the game against the Phoenix Suns, Murray possessed a defensive rating of 85 and he held a defensive rating of 97.4 in the win over the Sacramento Kings. This means that there have been only two games so far where Murray has had a defensive rating of above 100.

On the surface, the basic defensive stats do not tell the whole story. However, the advanced defensive analytics paint a much different picture. It is still the beginning of the season and things can change, but so far, the Nuggets have seen a great jump in defensive production from their young combo guard.

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If he can start producing on the offensive end at an efficient rate, then Jamal will be set for the rest of the season. All stats were verified via NBA.com or basketball reference.

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