Sports Illustrated - 21.10.2019

Murray snaps back to our universe. “What was I saying?”

It’s no coincidence that Denver’s rise has aligned with Mur-

ray’s, considering that he can’t help but aim high. “I’m not

just here to get a paycheck and leave,” he says. “I’m here to

be one of the greatest basketball players to ever play.” Going

after LeBron was exactly the sort of thing he would do: make

a bold play against the King, and with it declare his intent.

“He’s a no-ego guy until he gets between the lines,” Con-

nelly says. “And then he has a lot of ego.”

Denver needs that. Jokić sometimes needs to be coaxed

toward dominance. Forward Paul Millsap has made a career

of highly effective but unassuming basketball. It’s often

Murray who supplies the Nuggets their nerve, for better or

worse. NBA defenses are far too stifling for a contending

team to survive on sound play alone. There will always come

a time for players to press, to do more than they should. To

attempt the imprudent. To step beyond themselves. Murray

is suited for just that, in part because of the way his game

fits the elastic needs of a moment.

“You don’t want to be the selfish point guard,” Murray

says. “You want to be the guy that gets everybody open, that

makes plays, and see the ball move before it goes in. That’s

kind of our team. That’s how we play. But I could be a much

better scorer. I’ve got a lot of stuff that I haven’t been able

to show yet, just because of where we’re at.”

T

HERE IS a tension in the heart of every basketball

player, pulling them—with varying intensity—toward

either shooting or passing. Many with the Nuggets prefer

that Murray lean toward the former, even if it eventually

takes him around to the latter. “I always tell him to come

off looking to score,” says Denver director of player develop-

ment John Beckett. “I feel like a lot of guys, when they come

off looking to pass, they look hesitant and they’re not really

reading the defense as they should.” The risk in running a

fluid, pass-heavy offense lies in that sort of hesitation. If Mur-

ray receives a handoff from Jokić and then wavers on a play

he should make, it costs the Nuggets one opportunity and,

by draining time off the shot clock, shortchanges another.

Jokić will look to pass first. It’s the way he makes sense of

the game. Murray, then, was drafted, promoted and groomed

as a counterbalance. When he weaves his way past multiple

defenders and lofts a runner, Murray has the air of a natu-

ral. It’s quite a trick—finesse as a disguise for untold hours

spent in the backyard of his childhood home in Kitchener,

Ont., dribbling on grass until it became dirt, and dirt until

it became hard ground. Every shot that Murray takes for

the Nuggets is a casual repackaging of one his father drilled

him on years ago, and that he replicates by the hundreds on

the practice court of the Pepsi Center. “I’ve worked on every

shot,” Murray says. “I’ve worked off bad passes. I’ve worked

off-balance. Eyes closed. Backwards. Around the paint. Half-

court. I’ve worked on every shot possible. That’s why every

shot is a good shot.” Murray winks.

Even when he was still a teenager Murray impressed

his Nuggets teammates with his ability to convert tough,

contested looks. What steadied Murray was the sureness of

preparation. These were shots he had already taken. These

were shots he had already made. “You’ve got to shoot with

an understanding of how to get the ball and how to be lethal

when you do,” Murray says. “I could put up a half-court shot

and have the belief that it will most likely go in, or I could

just put it up and know it’s a bad shot. It’s belief in my game,

belief in what I can do.”

65

SPORT S ILLUS TR ATED

• OC T OBER 21–28, 2019

JOSH
RICHARDSON
76ers
Shooting guard
Replacing JJ Redick’s outside
shooting is of paramount
importance for the Sixers, but
Richardson has a bigger role
than that. Coach Brett Brown
called him the team’s “mortar.”

CARIS

LEVERT

Nets

Small forward

A two-way playmaker

nicknamed Baby Durant in

college, Levert was Brooklyn’s

best player in its playoff series

with Philly. If he improves

from three, look out.

DERRICK

WHITE

Spurs

Point guard

Sure, San Antonio’s backcourt

is crowded, so White’s numbers

might not dazzle. But he

showed flashes in the playoffs

(a 36-point game) and played

his way onto Team USA.

BAM

ADEBAYO

Heat

Center

Adebayo averaged 11.6 points

and 9.2 rebounds in 22 starts

down the stretch. He’ll see more

time with Hassan Whiteside

gone. His size and speed make

him a threat in any lineup.

JAMAL MURRAY