‘I think he’s finding his rhythm … We know Jamal’s scoring ability, I think what stood out in the postseason was the ability to make everyone around him better’
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Jamal Murray has played many basketball games in Canada, but never as an NBA champion.
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The superstar Canadian guard returned close to his Kitchener, ON, home Wednesday to take on the Toronto Raptors just over six months after his Denver Nuggets took home the NBA title.
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Murray and two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic had dominated the NBA Finals, resulting in a five-game win over the Miami Heat, with Murray ascending the ranks of NBA players by averaging 21.4 points, 10 assists and 6.2 rebounds in the series.
Things haven’t gone as smoothly since for Murray, who had only been able to play in half of Denver’s games heading into Wednesday due to a couple of injuries but he appears to be turning a corner. Since missing 13 straight games, Murray played in 6-of-7 before meeting the Raptors, and had averaged 21 points on scorching 47% three-point shooting over his previous six games.
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“When he first fame back from his injury he was on a minutes restriction and that’s frustrating because you really can’t find your rhythm because just when you get moving, you gotta come out,” Denver head coach Michael Malone said of Murray before the game.
“And now as he’s kind of, we’re getting away from a minutes restriction, I think he’s finding his rhythm … We know Jamal’s scoring ability, I think what stood out in the postseason was the ability to make everyone around him better, averaging 10 assists per game in the finals,” Malone said. “And I always judge his true impact impact on his rebounding and his defence.”
Murray’s assists are way down since his return to the lineup and he has been oddly quiet on the boards (as games with zero and just one rebound attest), but Malone sees that changing.
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“I know he can playmake and score, but when a fully locked in and engaged Jamal Murray is out there, he’s grabbing six to 10 rebounds a night, and he’s locked in on his defensive assignment and giving great energy. He’s working towards that,” Malone said. “This is to be expected with a guy who had a short off-season and has been unfortunately banged up to his hamstring and to his ankle.”
Murray looked in form in Denver’s previous game, scoring 22 on perfect outside shooting in just 24 minutes. The Nuggets didn’t need to play the starters in the fourth quarter of the blowout win over Dallas.
Somewhat surprisingly, Murray had not played well close to home in the past, averaging only 13.7 points on 38.6% shooting in six games at Toronto.
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