Sports Illustrated - 21.10.2019

(Brent) #1
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
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