We can talk until we’re blue in the face about all the problems that have been plaguing the Denver Nuggets this season. They don’t shoot enough three-pointers, the perimeter defense has been suspect at best, the bench play has been shoddy, the frontcourt depth behind Jokic is a disaster, and on and on it goes.
These are all very real issues the team is dealing with and they could ultimately be their undoing. However, in the modern NBA, no team is perfect; everyone is dealing with their own issues on some level. These problems are fixable for Denver, or at least things they can work around if they play their cards just right.
What the Nuggets cannot work around and fix, is one of their star players playing like a role player and that has been the case this season with Jamal Murray. Things got a little tense in the offseason, but Denver (perhaps reluctantly) handed Murray the full max contract extension he was looking for.
Now it’s time for Murray to live up to that deal (which begins next season) and through a quarter of the season, he has not. He has been inconsistent with his shot, his effort, his energy, and even his body language has come under scrutiny.
But most of all, they need him to score with confidence and be a true wingman to Nikola Jokic. If he can’t do that, this team is going nowhere regardless of how well they solve all of their other issues.
Murray goes off in 4th quarter, hits clutch shot to beat Kings
Well, hopefully Monday night was the turning point that fans have been waiting for. The Nuggets jumped out to a whopping 23-point first-half lead in Sacramento before completely combusting and gagging away the entire lead, actually falling behind by double digits in the fourth quarter.
It seemed like the Nuggets were headed for a new, worst loss of the season, a collapse that would have felt demoralizing and preventable. But then, Jamal Murray showed up and saved the day. He looked like the old Jamal Murray.
He came alive, scoring 17 points in the final frame; he also drove and collapsed the defense allowing him to kick out a perfect pass to Jokic for a three. He followed it up by sinking a game-winning midrange jumper with under 10 seconds to play.
This was quintessential Murray and it could not have come at a better time. More than even the stats, it was just that Jamal looked like himself. He was hitting all the shots, controlling tempo, getting into the lane, and he even appeared to have a little extra hop in his step.
Maybe this was just one night and a little hot streak from Jamal, or maybe he actually found something and is starting to turn a corner. Either way, the Nuggets need this desperately and it’s abundantly clear how this is a different team when Murray is able to reach this level.