While it was overshadowed by Steph Curry's historic scoring night, the Denver Nuggets' loss to Curry's Golden State Warriors was punctuated by a nightmare scenario:
Jamal Murray, the darling of last year's playoff bubble in Orlando, and Denver's best perimeter scorer went down to what has been diagnosed as a torn ACL. He will miss the remainder of the season.
With all the well-wishes and condolences sent Murray's way, it shouldn't be forgotten that he is one of Denver's Big 2.5. Nikola Jokic is the other one, with Michael Porter, Jr. on his way from a 0.5 to making it a full-fledged Big Three in the Mile High City. With the loss of Murray, both (and more) will have to step up their games to match the production they'll be missing from him.
Granted, Jokic is a legitimate top-three MVP candidate this season, and if he can keep the Nuggets winning, all concerns will be moot. But Murray's absence, like it or not, will absolutely be felt on the court. These are the three reasons why the Nuggets are in trouble without him.
1. Scoring
Sure, Denver has one of the most potent offenses in the NBA, and that offense, believe it or not, runs through Murray. It runs through Nikola Jokic, possibly the most unique player in the league. Few can match his scoring ability on all three levels with vision and length to boot.
But without Murray on the roster, the Nuggets are missing their top perimeter scoring threat and their go-to bucket getter when things slow down. Jokic has a solid shot with legitimate range, but he is mainly a bruiser. Porter proved himself in last year's bubble and is liable to go off any night, but he's still young and green compared to Murray. As for the rest of the team, they are solid, but none have Murray's mix of handles, athleticism, and touch.
The Nuggets are missing what most playoff teams will have this year: a guaranteed bucket from the perimeter when all else fails.
2. The clutch gene
Speaking of when all else fails, aside from being the Nugget with the best perimeter scoring package, Jamal Murray proved in last year's bubble that he simply has it. Whatever it is, call it ice in the veins, the x-factor gene, it's in Murray's blood.
He outdueled fellow young star Donovan Mitchell and then slew the mighty Los Angeles Clippers after being down 2-0 each time. Again, Jokic is by far the most skilled player on Denver's roster, but Murray brings both touch and the quintessential ‘screw you' attitude that teams need over the course of a series.
One of the Nuggets left will need to step up. As much as he's been helping, it's sure not to be Aaron Gordon. Jokic might, but the team still needs a go=to perimeter threat in crunch time.
Will it be Michael Porter, Jr.? He was craving the opportunity to prove himself last year, and now he really has a shot. But that shot couldn't come with a worse set of strings.
3. Leadership
Once more: Nikola Jokic is this team's MVP. He is a Swiss Army Knife of a player, a pinpoint targeting mobile tank that functions as the fulcrum of an entire playoff-caliber offense. He is of the rare breed of player that serves as true offensive hubs.
But he is not Denver's leader. Jamal Murray is.
The clutch gene, the creation, that all comes from Murray. That's fine, of course! But if you weren't aware of Murray's importance to the Denver Nuggets with the previous two points, this should do the trick.
Murray was the heartbeat and soul of the Nuggets in last year's playoffs. Without him, they are plenty talented enough to make do. Newcomer Aaron Gordon adds a dynamic to their offense that they hadn't unlocked to that point, Jokic's strengths are well-illustrated already, Porter is probably the next man up in the team's lineup of cold-blooded killers, and the rest of the team is full of B-level players, at worst.
But without an emotional leader, without a heartbeat, Denver will not stand a chance against the titans of the league come playoff time. Someone needs to step up in his place for them to take the leap this season. It's not fair, but it's true.
It doesn't show on the scoreboard, but the Nuggets will miss Jamal Murray if they don't already. Time to strap up as Denver aims to compete once again when the Western Conference playoffs roll around.
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