What's up everybody, first time posting and definitely won't be my last. Let's get into it. I want to talk about Jamal Murray. This kid is the reason I went from watching 8 games last year to damn near every single game this year! (Jokic and the sucky Avalanche also have some part in that LOL). I love watching this kid and this team this year, I think he's is already a special player at 19. What I love about this kid most is his intensity. You can never say he isn't giving you everything he's got when he's on the court, he almost reminds me of a Russell Westbrook in his own right the way he comes to compete with such a high intensity out there. There is a new wave of players flocking into this league with all the stars getting older (LeBron is 30, Steph and KD are 28, heck even Damian Lillard is 26) and we've got a star on our hands, believe that! And we all already know about the Joker!
So I guess what I'm getting at is why not hand this guy the keys right now?? Yeah I understand he's young and you don't want to ruin his confidence blah blah blah, but honestly, is confidence one thing we are seriously concerned about when it comes to Murray..? This is a teenager, let that sink in.. A TEENAGER, that is trash talking vets on the other team after he hits a 3 in their face! The kid meditates for 40 minutes before each game! Now I don't know if any of you guys have ever tried meditating but man that stuff is hard to do for 5 minutes let alone 40! And I can tell you as someone who is into meditation, it works! Its calms you, gives you clarity throughout the day and keeps you focused on the task at hand. I think Jamal's confidence will be okay with the burden of starting team point guard for this team.
I say all of this because it was only a year ago that I was sooo excited about Emmanuel Mudiay becoming the face of our franchise and quite frankly he's just been such a disappointment on both ends of the court thus far. The biggest upset for me is the fact that I haven't seen any improvement on his game and he's getting quality minutes, he's got the keys to the Nuggets. And in a league where there are kids like KAT, Devin Booker, and DeAngelo Russel coming out and making an impact right away it's hard not to want that from your guy. Even kids like Zach LaVine, he's improved his game each year now averaging 20 points a game and only at 21 years old. I don't think we should just give up on Mudiay because I would hate to see him turn into the beast we all think he can be while on another team, but we should reduce his role and see if he can earn his way back into being the guy and GIVE MURRAY THOSE MINUTES. The way he has improved his game just this year is awesome to see, and watching him play the more minutes he's consistently gets the better he plays!
Could you imagine how valuable Murray playing 30 minutes a night would be for him going into next season, because I'm sure thats how many minutes he'll be getting come next season. Just look at Devin Booker, another Kentucky guy who is just 20 years old. This dude is averaging 21.1 points in 34 minutes a game. Last year he averaged just below 14 in 27 minutes a game. What is Jamal averaging? 8.7 points per game on 19.9 minutes a game. If you put Bookers rookie stats next to Murray's over 36 minutes they'd be about the same, only difference is Booker is getting the valuable time to speed up his learning curve. Yeah I know the Suns stink and yes if you are wondering, I DO want to make the playoffs. I do think that is also an invaluable learning experience, but tell me this.. Do you really think Murray will do THAT much worse than Mudiay moving forward? Because he's the plan when everybody is healthy.
-Just another Nuggets fan
