Denver Nuggets at Rockets: Who must step up?
By Mathew Huff
The Denver Nuggets will look to slow down one of the hottest teams in the league.
The Denver Nuggets head to Houston to battle the James Harden led Rockets.
The Rockets are coming off a loss to Denver’s division rival, the Portland Trail Blazers, but make no mistake, they are still one of the hottest teams in the league. Despite missing their star point guard in Chris Paul, James Harden has been on a team lighting up the league and making a case to be a back to back MVP.
So, with this in mind, the Nuggets’ defensive game plan should not be to shut down Harden as there is no way to do so right now, but to take away his other options. However, that is for a different article and we will discuss which player on Denver has to step up in Houston.
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That would be none other than Jamal Murray. Murray has been a little bit of an up and down player as of late.
He had a 30 plus point game against the Kings, but then fell off a bit and only recorded eight points in the last win over the Charlotte Hornets. With Chris Paul out, the door is wide open for Jamal to have a huge night.
Over the past 10 games, Murray has been averaging 21.6 points per game, 45.1% shooting from the field, 40.3% from three point territory, six rebounds per game, 5.3 assists per game and he has even logged a double double in that span.
We all know that James Harden is going to get his numbers. However, Jamal seems due to have another great game as he seems to be in a pattern where he has a less than stellar game, then a monster performance in the next game.
Last time he recorded only eight points as alluded to earlier, so it would almost be perfect for him to give the Rockets fits when they are without Chris Paul.
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With all of this in mind, Jamal Murray is the Nuggets who must step up in Houston.