The 5 most important Denver Nuggets heading into the 2022-23 NBA season
By Ben Grunert
Jamal Murray
Since Denver drafted him in 2016, the Blue Arrow has developed incredible on-court chemistry with Jokic. The dynamic duo has mastered the two-man game to perfection, keeping opponents on their toes with a variety of plays to choose from.
The pairing often takes advantage of Jokic’s versatility as a scorer and passer, running several different actions off of the big man’s elite screens.
Murray runs pick-and-roll extremely well with Jokic, often finding the big man close to the basket where he becomes one of the league’s hardest players to guard. The duo also dissects defenses with pick-and-pop action. Jokic is a career 34.5 percent three-point shooter, but he shoots 35.9 percent when Murray is on the floor with him, according to StatMuse.
In the playoffs, Jokic’s sharpshooting next to Murray becomes even more impressive as he nails an incredible 41.6 percent of his attempts from downtown (up from 39.6 percent for his entire postseason career).
Murray’s speed and finishing abilities also allow him to fly to the hoop off of give-and-go action, as well as nail threes behind Jokic’s best screens. A career 40.9 percent three-point shooter in the playoffs, Murray is a certified sniper with the ability to knock down deep shots from just about anywhere on the court.
Murray and Jokic have dominated multiple playoff series since they booked their maiden postseason berth in 2019, most notably torching the Jazz and the Clippers en route to their 2020 Western Conference Finals showing.
Like his superstar big man, Murray is just 25 years old. Even after a two-year stretch of recovery from a torn ACL, the Canadian combo guard has more than enough time to win a ring alongside the reigning MVP.
However, Denver will likely need to ease Murray into a full workload as the season progresses. Murray must return to his old self again in order to make a significant impact, and a successful recovery process will certainly help.