He can't do it all alone, but against the Houston Rockets, Jamal Murray certainly tried. He was definitely one of the two bright spots of the Denver Nuggets' 110-100 loss. Nikola Jokic was the other, of course. Murray continues to shine and thrive for the Nuggets this year. And he's shining on both sides of the ball, too. He just needs a little more help from his friends to get the Nuggets over the top in these games.
Murray's offense looked great again, and he's up to 13th in the league in scoring at 25.8 points per game after his 38-point explosion against the Rockets, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter. Murray did his best to will the team back, and he had another lights-out shooting performance from beyond the arc. After going 5-for-8, he's now at 50.7% from beyond the arc for the year.
But it was Murray's defensive highlights that bring even more hope for his performance for the rest of the season and give him an even better chance at making his second All-Star Game in as many years.
Murray has been playing impeccable defense
Murray has been playing defense at a higher level than I can ever remember seeing him play. Despite playing an arguably high 36.9 minutes per game, he hasn't slowed his effort on the defensive end. Murray had 2 blocks against the Rockets, both on Amen Thompson, and he added 1 steal for good measure. Sure, it's early, but Murray is now averaging 0.8 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.
Even more wild than the blocks is the 2P% vs. expectation ranking Murray currently has. Murray is currently 15th in the NBA. Yes, 15th, right behind Marvin Bagley III, who's been a beast on defense off the bench. How accurate is the list? Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama is number two, and Rudy Gobert is number eight. Way to go, Mal!
But perhaps even more impressive is Murray's Rim Field Goal % Allowed. Murray ranks fourth in the league at 42.3% on 26 shots defended. For comparison. Wemby ranks 10th at 46.3% on 82 shots defended. All that talk about Murray "can't defend" this offseason must have motivated him, because he's been great to start the year.
Clearly, Murray has brought his "A" game to both sides of the ball this year. And he's making a strong case for another All-Star selection. But for the Nuggets to be at their most successful, he's going to need help from the supporting cast. And that help just wasn't there in the loss to the Rockets.
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