Forget the box score, as obscene as it was. The Nuggets are back in the conversation to reach the NBA Finals because of how Jamal Murray played, not how many points he scored Wednesday night against Portland.
He was great for the same reasons Kobe Bryant was great. Murray is getting even with the basketball world, taking everything personally again. Murray knows he is the accelerant, the one player beyond Jokic who gives a championship run credibility.
In the last game before the All-Star break, Murray dropped a career-high 55 points, showing competitive incivility, egged on by the Trail Blazers’ fellow Canadian Dalano Banton. Murray could have settled for a convenient 40-point night, but he was angry — like shades of green Hulk angry — and hunting. He sank 3s, the equivalent of plucking whiskers, before moving in for the haymaker. He was draining jumpers, turning corners and seeking heads to dunk on.
Ever regret not seeing Murray in the bubble? This is what his past looked like. This is different, though. This isn’t the Murray Flurry. This is the Murray Recovery.
And with Murray on track, the Nuggets are back. Now, they can narrow their focus on the one issue that will determine whether they make a deep playoff run: their defense.
But let’s understand what is happening with their star guard.
For the first 21 games this season, Murray was about as popular as a double dribble. Beyond his stans, nobody was neutral. They liked to dislike him. Two things can be true: You can appreciate his retire-his-number Nuggets career and hold him accountable after signing a max contract.
After losing to the Washington Generals, err, Wizards on Dec. 7 despite 56 points from Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets fell to 11-10, the low point in a horrible start.
Since then, they boast a 25-9 record. Both are connected to Murray. He was awful early — slow, injured and out of sync, looking uncomfortable and too deferential trying to fit in with Russell Westbrook. Through Dec. 7, Murray averaged 17.8 points while shooting 42% from the field, his lowest accuracy since his rookie season, and a career-worst beyond the arc (33.3%).
“It took time to gel,” Murray said.
In the 34 games since, playing in 31, Murray is averaging 22.8 points while nailing 49.5% from the floor and 39.8% from 3.
The takeaway? Murray did not look for excuses.
Instead, he found a mirror.
“With Jamal, he’s his own toughest critic. No matter what anyone says, he’s going to be harder on himself than anyone else. That has pushed him to, ‘I am going to get in the gym, I am going to get in the weight room, do whatever I can to allow myself to get back to playing at the level that I know I am capable of.’ And he’s done that,” coach Michael Malone said. “And when you combine that jump shot with that athleticism, that ability to get by people, he becomes a really tough cover.”
Murray has shown pride and resilience. His team has reflected this, getting hot, protecting the home court. All the opponents in this eight-game win streak have a losing record. But, like the Broncos vs. the NFC South, the Nuggets need not apologize for taking advantage of a straightaway.
The play of Julian Strawther and Zeke Nnaji has added hints of depth. And there is an important decision looming. After the break, Malone must return Westbrook to a sixth-man role, rewarding Christian Braun’s growth.
The Nuggets were a middling .500 team, trending toward disappointment. Now, they own the Western Conference’s third seed. They would open the playoffs against the Clippers. Yes, please. The goal is to pass the Grizzlies. A No. 2 seed guarantees home court in the first two rounds, and the Nuggets can beat Minnesota and Memphis in that scenario if they’re healthy.
But Murray was onto something when I asked what the key was for this team, no longer exhausted from a title defense and a target on their backs, to finish like it did in 2023.
“A lot of it comes from the defensive end. We all know we are really good offensively; anybody can get it going at any time,” Murray said. “To me, when we buckle down and defend like we know we can, the offense really flows that much better.”
There have been flashes. Encouraging moments. But inconsistency crushes dreams and undermines teams. The Nuggets cannot overcome uneven performances or questionable effort after standing pat at the trade deadline.
“We have a great clutch defensive rating. We really turn it on. But that’s a really bad habit,” Malone said. “We have had stretches where we have shown it is playoff-ready. Can we sustain that? Can we do it every night? Can we do it quarter to quarter?”
Two months ago, these were the same questions surrounding Murray. If the Nuggets answer them as he has, we will be talking in May about them contending for a title, not reminiscing about Murray’s double nickel.
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