Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray and coach Michael Malone addressed critics of Murray’s poor start to the season on Saturday after he scored 34 points in a win at Ball Arena.
“If people are gonna talk about me not making shots, then so be it,” Murray said. “I know what I’m capable of. I know what I do. There’s a reason why I’m here, and there’s a reason why I’ve been able to win with this team and be here for years and be able to develop chemistry and all that. So I just let people talk. That’s what they do best.”
The Nuggets’ 134-121 win over Detroit featured Murray’s first 30-point performance since Game 7 of their second-round playoff series in May, the night their season ended in heartbreaking fashion vs. Minnesota. Since then, Murray has suited up and struggled for Team Canada, signed a four-year max extension with the Nuggets and started the new NBA season in a major shooting slump.
He appears to be well on his way out of it now, having brought up his scoring production to 19.8 points per game. On Dec. 12, he was averaging 17.8 points.
“The last seven to eight games now is probably his best stretch of the season,” Malone said. “And I know we all got excited from that game he had in Sacramento, when he took over in the fourth quarter. ‘Hey, maybe this is a game that gets him going.’ And I think he’s built on it. Tonight you saw it. He had moments and flashes where he was shooting the ball aggressively. We always say it, right? An aggressive Jamal Murray is an effective Jamal Murray.”
Murray has missed only six games in the first 30, but the absences were caused by three different injuries: a concussion, a hamstring strain and most recently a sprained ankle. The 27-year-old also recently revealed that he’s been dealing with plantar fasciitis, which he told The Denver Post “started years ago.”
When he went out with the hamstring injury, he was shooting 42% from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line this season. In seven games since returning, he’s 48.1% from the floor and 44.2% beyond the arc, averaging 24.7 points during the mini-resurgence. The Nuggets are 9-2 when he attempts 17 or more shots and 3-10 when he attempts 16 or fewer.
“I know that everybody is really riding Jamal Murray really hard right now. That’s not gonna do him any favors, man,” Malone said. “The guy cares. He wants to play better. He wants to help this team. His heart’s in the right place. And supporting him will go a long way. And that’s why I tell guys, don’t look at the (darn) phone. I don’t give a (darn) what you guys say about me. And he shouldn’t either.”
About 15 minutes later, Murray entered the room for his postgame news conference audibly trash-talking critics before seating himself. When asked how aware he’s been of online and social media discourse about him, he said: “No, what is it?”
Unkind.
“So it shouldn’t be kind every season, huh?” Murray retorted. “Because it is the same trend, isn’t it, every season?”
When it was suggested to Murray that his $208.5 million contract extension differentiates this one, he said, “Yeah, for sure. For sure. I just play basketball. I know what I’m capable of. I think people that have been following the team know what I’m capable of as well. So just playing my game, you know what I’m saying? I use it as fuel, I guess.”
The pattern of slow starts is indeed consistent throughout his career. Murray has averaged 16.3 points per game in the month of November (53.3% true shooting). His scoring has increased to 17.3 PPG in December (56%), 18.2 in January (57.4%) and 19.1 in February (60.4%), according to StatMuse.
“It seems to have been a trend in his nine years here. Somewhat of a slow start, kind of works his way into the season, finds that rhythm and then turns into gangbusters,” Malone said Saturday. “And obviously you hope that from game one, he’s setting that tone. That’s what it’s going to take for him to be that All-NBA player, that All-Star player that we know he’s capable of being. But most importantly, here we are in the present. I’m just happy that Jamal is keeping his head. Staying positive. He knows that he has the complete support from ownership, front office, coaching staff and his teammates.”