Nuggets Notes: Murray, Caldwell-Pope, Jokic, M. Jackson
Jamal Murray‘s return from an ACL tear turned the Nuggets into serious title contenders, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Coach Michael Malone points to a December 8 game against Portland when Murray sank a game-winning shot and ran off the court in celebration.
“That was the night that we were reminded of Jamal’s greatness,” Malone said. “It was also a jump-start for us as a team. We started playing really well after that night.”
Denver pulled away from the field and spent more than 100 days as the top team in the Western Conference. The Nuggets are 6-0 at home in the playoffs and have posted convincing series wins against Minnesota and Phoenix on their way to the conference finals.
Jones sees a similarity to the Spurs teams of last decade and suggests that the combination of Nikola Jokic and Murray evoke memories of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.
“We understand how much talent we have on the roster, and I think this team has proven that it can beat anybody,” Malone said. “I think with the two-time MVP, this team has worked very hard to get to this point. This is not luck or happenstance. We’re healthy, which is important. But we’re a very good basketball team.”
There’s more from Denver:
- The offseason addition of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was acquired in a trade with the Wizards, brought some championship experience to the roster. Malone emphasized the need for poise prior to Thursday’s closeout win in Game 6, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post, and Caldwell-Pope responded with 17 points in the first quarter. The veteran guard sees an atmosphere similar to the Lakers’ title team he was part of in 2020. “Just being around these guys every day — practice, shootaround — I can just see it in them,” Caldwell-Pope said. “The confidence is there.”
- Suns star Kevin Durant was impressed after watching the series-long performance from Jokic, who had three triple-doubles in the six games, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “Jokic is an all-time great,” Durant said. “He’s going to go down as one of the all-time great centers to ever touch a basketball.”
- ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson has apologized for leaving Jokic off the top five on his MVP ballot, relays Cydney Henderson of USA Today. Jokic was first, second or third on 99 of the 100 ballots, but didn’t crack Jackson’s top five. “Made an honest mistake with my MVP votes,” Jackson tweeted. “My apologies to the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic. He’s not only a legitimate MVP candidate who deserved my vote, but he is truly one of the all time greats!”
Nuggets’ Jamal Murray Upgraded To Available For Game 6
Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray has been given the green light to suit up tonight in a possible closeout Game 6 against the Suns, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Murray had previously been considered questionable to play due to a non-COVID-19 illness that has also impacted his other teammates.
Having Murray available will allow Denver to field a relatively healthy lineup against a Phoenix team that will be down two starters in point guard Chris Paul, still out with a left groin strain, and center Deandre Ayton, who will be shelved for the first time in this series with a rib contusion he sustained in Denver’s Game 5 victory.
Murray has been a huge component of the Nuggets’ success thus far in helping lead the club to a 3-2 series. The 6’3″ guard has averaged 24.6 PPG, 7.0 APG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.0 SPG through the first five games.
Denver leads the best-of-seven series 3-2, and will now carry a significant health advantage into Phoenix. The action tips off at 9 pm CT.
Suns’ Ayton Out For Game 6; Nuggets’ Murray Questionable
The Suns have ruled out center Deandre Ayton for Thursday’s pivotal Game 6 against Denver due to the rib contusion he sustained in Game 5, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
On Wednesday, Phoenix ruled out point guard Chris Paul, who is battling a left groin strain, while Ayton was listed as questionable. Something troublesome must have been discovered during his medical evaluation, as the big man has been downgraded to out.
The team will now be playing without two starters in an elimination game, as the Suns trail the Nuggets 3-2 in their second-round series.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Twitter link) hears that guard Landry Shamet will enter the starting lineup tonight — I’m assuming that will be in place of Cameron Payne, who has been filling in for Paul, and not for Ayton. Backup centers Jock Landale and Bismack Biyombo figure to see extended playing time in the middle with Ayton out.
Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report argued before the news broke that the Suns would be better off giving the majority of Ayton’s minutes to Landale. Phoenix is minus-59 in Ayton’s 149 minutes in the series, but plus-27 in Landale’s 74 minutes.
The Nuggets might be shorthanded as well. Guard Jamal Murray is questionable with a non-COVID illness that has been traveling through the team, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter links).
Murray was unable to participate in Thursday’s shootaround, which was cut short due to the illness that’s going around, but Denver is hopeful he’ll be able to suit up, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Head coach Michael Malone and a “handful of players” are among those who have been affected, Youngmisuk adds.
Pacific Notes: Craig, Murray, Vanderbilt, Curry, Warriors
Suns swingman Torrey Craig unpacked how his team has been approaching its defense of his former Nuggets teammate Jamal Murray in the two teams’ ongoing playoff series, Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic writes.
“Jamal’s a skilled player, man,” Craig remarked. “He’s really crafty with different finishes, and his jumpshot and his ability to get to the rim and mid-range and 3s… Just be physical with him. Crowd him. Don’t let him get to his spots easy because he’s one of those guys if let him get in the groove, he can get it going.”
Thus far in the series, Murray is averaging 25.3 PPG on .426/.280/.917 shooting splits, along with 7.3 APG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.0 SPG. Denver leads 2-1.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Versatile Lakers power forward Jarred Vanderbilt has thus far seemed up for the challenge of defending Warriors All-Star point guard Stephen Curry in their playoff series matchup, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “He’s a tough cover,” Vanderbilt said of Curry. “We have a lot of bodies to throw at him. Starting with me, Dennis (Schröder), I think everyone did a great job of chasing him around kind of wearing him down and making it hard for him… That is my calling on the team. I like those matchups. Those challenges. That is what I’m here to do,”
- The Warriors, trailing the lower-seeded Lakers 2-1 in their second-round playoff series, are striving to figure out how to improve, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “You got to be more poised than we were,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s easier in a regular season to respond to a tough stretch. Everything is magnified in the playoffs. So a tough stretch can turn into a longer stretch … we let our foot off the gas and the Lakers took advantage of that.”
- Following a 127-97 blowout loss to Los Angeles on Saturday, Tim Kawakami of The Athletic wonders if the Warriors‘ inconsistency this season could be coming back to haunt them in these playoffs for good. Kawakami believes that Golden State is still capable of greatness, but points the team’s lackluster 11-30 road record as an indicator that it has had its struggles this year.
Western Notes: Murray, Brown, Gordon, Jokic, Suns
Jamal Murray‘s offensive skill was on full display in Game 1 of the Nuggets’ second-round series with the Suns, as he poured in 34 points. After missing last season due to a knee injury, Murray is all the way back, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes. He’s a three-level scorer, which makes him extremely difficult to contain.
“My mindset wasn’t coming back to be the same player,” Murray said. “My mindset was coming back and being a better player than I was. The biggest thing I had to do was build my body back up, not necessarily the skill. It was a lot of work, almost every day. But, I just wanted to get back to playing the way I thought I could. I didn’t want to get too high or low.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- While Murray erupted offensively, Bruce Brown and Aaron Gordon were the stars on defense in Game 1, Mike Singer of The Denver Post notes. Gordon was the primary defender on Kevin Durant, while Brown made three steals and generally disrupted the Suns’ offensive flow.
- Nikola Jokic averaged a career-high 9.8 assists during the regular season. His teammates learn quickly they need to be prepared for Jokic’s distribution skills, Jason Quick of The Athletic writes. “He sees the game a couple steps before it even happens,” Gordon said. “They are things that nobody else sees. So we know to be ready, and keep our hands ready, and he’s going to hit us in the oven.”
- Suns coach Monty Williams doesn’t expect his team to commit 16 turnovers again in Game 2 on Monday night, which led to 18 Denver points. “We’ve always been really good at making the right read right away,” Williams told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “I thought we were delayed and hesitant in that. I think we’ll do a lot better (Monday).”
Nuggets Notes: Murray, Title Hopes, Porter, Bench
After missing the playoffs the last two years because of a torn ACL in his left knee, Jamal Murray is back and looking like the dominant force he was during the Orlando bubble, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Murray delivered 34 points and nine assists on Saturday night as the Nuggets topped Phoenix in their series opener. He drilled six three-pointers, including a pair on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter to help Denver pulled away.
“Those moments, when you dream of it as a kid, you try to reenact those in the backyard,” Murray said. “Just counting down (final seconds for a winning shot) or feeling the energy or hitting that big shot and you hear the crowd that loud, you live for those moments and you want to make the most of those moments. And I have been waiting for a while to be healthy to be back and playing at this level and during this time of the year.”
Murray’s ACL injury happened in April 2021 and resulted in the Nuggets being swept by the Suns that year. He sat out all of last season while recovering, and a depleted Denver team lost to the Warriors in the first round. In his last playoff appearance, Murray led the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals in 2020, and he hopes to take them even further this year.
“He is playing amazing,” Nikola Jokic said. “He is definitely showing what he is capable of. He is our best player, and we are following him right now.”
There’s more from Denver:
- Last night’s performance should help erase any doubts over Denver’s ability to win a title, contends Tony Jones of The Athletic. He points out that the Nuggets were so dominant during the regular season that they were able to cruise through March and still finish with as the top seed in the West. Along with the boost from Murray’s return, the team now has a strong defensive presence on the perimeter with the offseason additions of Bruce Brown, Christian Braun and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. “You guys (the media) act like you’re surprised, like we haven’t been playing at this level for most of the season,” Murray said after Saturday’s victory. “It kind of gets tiring having to defend ourselves. So we’re just coming out, trying to play well, and trying to win games.”
- The Nuggets have also benefited from the return of Michael Porter Jr., who missed nearly all of last season after undergoing lumbar spine surgery. Suns star Kevin Durant calls Porter the X-factor in the series, per Michael Singer of The Denver Post. “He got healthy now, got an opportunity to play with a team that’s playing for something, playing meaningful basketball every year, got a Hall of Famer he’s playing with (Jokic) as well to make the game a little easier for you, so sky’s the limit for him,” Durant said. “Still young in the game, still athletic after surgeries.”
- Denver’s depth might be the difference in this series, Singer suggests in another Post article. While the Suns’ best players logged heavy minutes in the first round, Nuggets coach Michael Malone showed a willingness to use a nine- or 10-man rotation.
Nuggets Notes: Murray, Porter Jr., Title Run, Jokic
Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are healthy this postseason and that makes the Nuggets much more dangerous, Pat Graham of The Associated Press writes. Murray, who missed last season due to a knee injury, finished off the Timberwolves in Game 5 with 35 points. Porter, who has been plagued by back issues in prior seasons, had a 25-point performance in Game 3.
“It was good to be back in the playoffs and just be playing at a high level along with Jamal,” Porter said. “It’s a good feeling.”
We have more on the Nuggets:
- Murray was irritated by the chatter surrounding Minnesota’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the way he was blanketing Denver’s star guard, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. He made a statement with his Game 5 eruption. “He was our best player this series,” said Nikola Jokic, citing Murray’s energy, shot-making and leadership.
- Can Denver go all the way with the current group? Tony Jones of The Athletic explores that question, suggesting that the Nuggets’ biggest concern is their defense – particularly against the Suns’ superstars in the second-round series – and the need for a steady No. 3 offensive option to emerge.
- Jokic earned a bonus with the team reaching the second round, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. He’ll collect an extra $568,966 as a result of the Nuggets winning a series.
Timberwolves Notes: Edwards, Alexander-Walker, Murray, Nuggets
With his team trailing the top-seeded Nuggets 3-0, All-Star Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards is dealing with the kind of postseason tribulations all developing young stars seem destined to endure, opines Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Though no team in league history has rallied to win a series from this deficit, Edwards remains unshakably confident.
“This series is not over,” Edwards said. “It’s the first to four, not to three. I promise you it ain’t over. Everyone’s counting us out. It ain’t over. I promise you.”
Krawczysnki notes that Edwards occasionally has tried to take on a bit too much of his team’s scoring load in an effort to salvage the series, but has also shown flashes that suggest he could be one of the few special stars capable of one day being able to lead the Timberwolves to playoff glory.
Through the series’ first three contests, the 6’4″ swingman is averaging 31.7 PPG on .500/.400/.862 shooting splits. He has also added 4.7 APG, 3.7 RPG, 2.3 SPG, and 1.7 BPG.
There’s more out of Minnesota:
- Reserve Timberwolves shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, eligible for restricted free agent this summer, is hopeful that he can stick around with Minnesota long-term, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (via Twitter). “I would [like to return to the Timberwolves next year],” Alexander-Walker said. “I’m grateful for Minnesota, grateful for [head coach Chris] Finch and the head office. They gave me a chance… I believe in this group. Believe that we can figure it out together and do something special.” The 6’6″ wing out of Virginia Tech was traded to Minnesota by the Jazz midway through the season. In 23 regular season games with the Timberwolves, he averaged 5.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.4 APG.
- The Timberwolves are facing off against a star talent they could have selected in the 2016 draft, a decision they doubtlessly regret now, writes Aaron Lavinsky of The Star Tribune. Jamal Murray – along with MVP candidate Nikola Jokic – is the key offensive contributor for the Nuggets that has put Minnesota in dire straights. As Lavinsky details, Murray’s head coach at Kentucky, John Calipari, personally encouraged then-head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau to draft Murray with the team’s fifth pick, but Thibodeau was locked in on then-Providence point guard Kris Dunn. Dunn was briefly out of the NBA before signing with Utah this season, while Murray is a borderline All-Star.
- Today, the Timberwolves will try to begin an uphill battle to save their season against the West’s top-seeded Nuggets, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. The team is trying to be more granular in its approach to this playoff series. Accordingly, Minnesota is striving to move forward one game at a time, starting with staving off elimination at home this evening.
Northwest Notes: Murray, MPJ, Thunder, Clarkson
Jamal Murray‘s breakout on a postseason stage occurred during the 2020 playoffs in the Orlando bubble, when he averaged 26.5 points and 6.6 assists with a .505/.453/.897 shooting line in 19 games as the Nuggets made the Western Conference Finals.
Between then and now, Murray has had to endure a lengthy recovery process from an ACL tear, but he’s off to a great start in the 2023 postseason, putting up 32.0 PPG and 6.5 APG on .500/.500/.909 shooting in his first two games against Minnesota. Teammate Michael Porter Jr. told reporters this week that Murray “looks better than ever,” as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays.
For his part, the star guard is eager to prove that “Bubble Murray” isn’t just a moniker to live up to — it’s a level he believes he can surpass.
“People say, ‘Oh, that’s like vintage (Murray),'” he told Youngmisuk, referring to the “Bubble Murray” term. “It’s like, I haven’t even hit my best. … I feel like people are making that to be the best that’s been seen. And I’m thinking that was just the beginning.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Like Murray, Porter has had to overcome injury issues to get to where he’s at with the top-seeded Nuggets this spring, as Nick Kosmider of The Athletic details. Porter has undergone multiple back surgeries, including one procedure that wiped out his rookie year and another that limited him to nine games in 2021/22. “Injuries have definitely made my basketball career a little different path than I would have wished for growing up,” Porter said. “But I’m here in the playoffs, and it is a dream come true. I’m playing for the No. 1 team in the West. I’m playing a lot of minutes for the No. 1 team in the West and we’re up 2-0 in (the first round of) the playoffs. It’s all you can ask for.”
- Speaking to local reporters on Thursday in his end-of-season presser, Thunder head of basketball operations Sam Presti didn’t rule out the possibility of last year’s No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren playing for OKC’s Summer League squad and stressed that he wants to see the team become more physical going forward, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “A lot of people think about physicality, and they think about one side of the ball, they think about defense,” Presti said. “Offensively I think there’s room for us to get more physical. You can see that at the free throw line. We were last in the league of getting into the bonus before our opponent. That’s not a place you want to be.”
- If Jordan Clarkson declines his player option for 2023/24, the opportunity to play for a winning team will be a top priority as he weighs his options in free agency, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. However, that doesn’t mean Clarkson would rule out the retooling Jazz, who exceeded expectations this past season and are well positioned to keep improving. “Everybody this year really took steps super fast and grew super fast,” Clarkson said. “I think next year we’ll be back to our winning ways, with a chance to compete for something.”
Nuggets Notes: Connelly, KCP, Murray, Defense, Malone
Former Nuggets president of basketball operations and current Timberwolves executive Tim Connelly feels strange facing his former team in the first round of the playoffs, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required). Connelly still communicates with members of the Denver organization on a regular basis.
“I mean, we talk all the time. It’s more just stupid memes or non-basketball stories we talk about. These people are like family,” he said.
We have more on the Nuggets:
- They gave Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a two-year, $30MM extension last offseason after acquiring him from the Wizards, and his defense and championship pedigree played a big role in that decision, Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com writes. Michael Porter Jr. considers KCP the ultimate glue guy. “It doesn’t matter if he gets 12 shots that night, four shots that night, he’s going to still play the right way,” Porter said. “He’s going to make the extra pass. He’s going to play defense.” Caldwell-Pope had 15 points and committed just one turnover in 31 minutes during the team’s Game 1 109-80 victory.
- Following a laborious recovery last season from a serious knee injury, Jamal Murray is relishing the return to the postseason, Singer writes in a subscriber-only story. Murray had a game-high 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on Sunday night with just one turnover. He said the last time he was as excited for any game was the first game back from his ACL tear.
- Coach Michael Malone repeatedly said during the season that defensive improvement would be the key to a championship run. He saw a lot of good things in Game 1, as the current group displayed its defensive versatility, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. “It was a stellar defensive performance through four quarters,” Malone said. “Guys were locked in through the entire game. That’s the kind of effort we are going to need through the series. It’s important that we don’t let this win linger. We have a lot of work to do.”
- However, Malone doesn’t want his team to rest on its laurels heading into Game 2 on Wednesday, Jones adds in a separate story. Their practice film session on Tuesday emphasized the negative. “I made sure to tell the guys that we haven’t done a damn thing,” Malone said. “We’re trying to win a championship, and if we are going to do that, we have 15 more games to win. There are a lot of things that we could have done better in Game 1. That’s what film was about and what practice was about (Tuesday) morning. We want to identify the areas where we can be better. My job is to keep the guys humble.”