Well, that was....something. The Denver Nuggets season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder had its moments, but what the heck was that performance from Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic? Am I looking at the box score right? The Nuggets' dynamic duo got zapped by Kryptonite and fell flat. At least it was game one of 82 and not game one of seven in the playoffs. But it certainly feels the same waking up today.
The final score might show a 96-84 loss, but the second half was so atrocious that it felt so much worse than the score would let on. The Nuggets scored just 36 points in the second half, but eight came in the final minutes of garbage time by the end of bench players.
The Nuggets aren't going to win many, if any, games when Jokic is -20, and Murray has as many turnovers as he does points. And they've got to learn to adjust when teams play them physically like the Minnesota Timberwolves did in the playoffs last year.
The Thunder used the Timberwolves' physical playbook
At least this game was against the Thunder, who are probably the best defensive team in the league. They play chippy and physical. But when Jokic, the best midrange shooter in the league can't hit a shot in the paint, or his patented floater, you expect that Murray would pick up some of the slack. But Murray had one of his most forgettable games in recent memory, too. What happened?
Well, the Thunder threw all the pressure they could at both players. Murray had 6 turnovers, but it felt like 20. He was hounded by the OKC defenders the same way he was hounded by the Timberwolves defenders last year in the playoffs.
And the result was the same. Murray finished the game 2-for-11 for 6 points and, the Nuggets franchise record holder in threes in a season, set last year, attempted only one from downtown while passing up open looks to drive into the midrange for a contested shot.
Jokic went just 5-for-19, and the three-point woes returned, going just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. His final line of 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists looks like a first-quarter stat line, but it came in 35 minutes.
The Thunder were physical on Joker, and dating back to the playoffs last year, that seems to be the way to slow him down. They dared him to make a three, and in the paint, they put a body on him. Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren made life rough, literally, and Jokic just couldn't get anything to fall.
The dynamic duo can only go up from here, right?
At least this putrid performance was against the Thunder. Could it have been rust? Or is the word out on how to stop Jokic and Murray? I'd like to think they'll both figure something out and get back to normal when the Nuggets take on the New Orleans Pelicans in the home opener at Ball Arena in their next game.
Sure, they looked terrible on offense. But it was the Thunder, after all. Surely they can only go up from here, so at least there's that.
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