On Tuesday, Jamal Murray added another phenomenal playoffs performance to his resume. He was lights out in game three of the Western Conference Finals. Leading the Denver Nuggets to a crucial win that stopped Denver from falling down 0-3 in the series, he scored 28 points on .588/.500 shooting. Ahead of another critical game five against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, Murray has been dubbed as the “X” factor.
Why? Simply put, when Murray shoots efficiently from the field and gets his teammates involved, the Denver offense rolls. Heading into the NBA Bubble in July, Murray was seen as an important tandem to superstar Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. But after Murray’s brilliance over the last two months, especially in the playoffs, this team is just as much his as Jokic’s.
How good has Murray been in the playoffs? And how high is his NBA ceiling? Last Word on Professional Basketball breaks it down here.
Jamal Murray’s Playoff Brilliance
Living in Jokic’s Shadow
For the last four years, Murray and Jokic have blossomed together in the Mile High City. In Murray’s rookie campaign in 2016-17, the tandem enjoyed a season of .500 basketball. The following year, the Nuggets went 46-36 and missed the playoff field by one seed.
The tandem moved full speed ahead over the last two years, including back-to-back seasons as the second or third seed in the west. Currently, the Nuggets are down three games to one in the Western Conference Finals against the title favorites.
Yet, throughout this successful run, Murray has been more of an afterthought to his teammate Jokic.
Jokic is a two-time All-Star, a three-time All-League representative, and received votes in the last two Most Valuable Player races. On the other hand, Murray has never been an All-Star. He only received recognition on the All-Rookie team and was overshadowed by Jokic’s superstardom. Until now.
“All-Star coming! Watch out!”
Nikola Jokic has a new security team around him 😂 (via @nuggets) pic.twitter.com/IHYsi8KjNr
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 25, 2019
Denver’s front office knew they had a budding superstar when they signed Murray to an extension last offseason. The terms of that deal? Five years at $169.65M. When Murray hits the final year of this contract, he’ll be set to make $38M.
Only six players in the NBA made $38M this year. That list is only reserved for superstars including Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Kevin Durant, and James Harden.
2020 Playoffs: Murray’s Time to Shine
You may be asking yourself, why is the overshadowed portion of Denver’s dynamic duo worth so much money? Stop right there. Murray is as equal a superstar to Jokic. And in today’s guard-heavy NBA, he may be more important.
The proof can be found in Murray’s brilliance during these playoffs. Denver is 9-8 in the playoffs thanks to two miraculous comebacks after 3-1 series deficits. This is important because it contrasts how Murray plays when the Nuggets when versus when they lose.
As a whole, Murray has stepped into this starring role throughout the playoffs. In his career, the former first-round pick averages only 15.6 points per game while shooting less than 45 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from deep. Murray also nets only 3.7 assists per contest.
Even more so, Murray averaged 18.5 points, 4.8 assists, and .456/.346 shooting this past season.
Murray the “X” Factor in Playoffs
But when the lights of the 2020 playoffs came on, Murray declared it was time to play up to that lofty contract extension. Throughout the entire playoffs, Murray is averaging 26.6 points and 6.5 assists per game. Both of those averages rank top-10 in the entire league.
In Denver’s nine playoff wins, Murray scores 31.9 points and 6.9 assists per game. Better yet, he shoots 55.4 percent from the field and a staggering 53.4 percent from deep. While he still averages 6.6 assists per contest in Denver’s eight playoff losses, Murray’s points per game falls to just above 20. His overall shooting percentage falls to 46.2 percent and his 3-point shooting sits at 43.7 percent.
These numbers are an easy indicator of Denver’s success. When Murray takes over the offense, when the scoring goes through him, and when he shoots well beyond the arc, Denver will win. Mark our words.
Jamal Murray’s clutch three was ridiculous 😱 pic.twitter.com/BnMZNe5EkX
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 23, 2020
Murray’s NBA Ceiling Based on Playoffs
When the final year of Murray’s recent contract extension rolls around in 2024-25, the Kentucky-product will be close to 29-years-old. As mentioned before based on this $38M contract year, Denver expects Murray to be one of the faces of the NBA at this point. So how good will he be?
After an electric three-point shooting year his one season at Kentucky, Murray often drew comparisons to Curry. Throughout his career, Curry is a 43.5 percent shooter from deep and considered one of the most lethal shooters in NBA history.
This three-point shooting ceiling may be a big high for Murray. The better comparison? Someone along the lines of Damian Lillard.
Lillard is a career 37.3 percent shooter from deep. Throughout the 2020 playoffs, Murray is shooting 47 percent from deep. This may be a bit of an aberration to his career three-point shooting of 35.8 percent.
Is Murray the next Dame?
What makes Murray more comparable to Lillard than Curry? His reliance on the mid-range game and ability to find shots at close range.
There’s no doubt that Curry possesses great handles, however, he’s always used these handles to find space at the three-point line. Murray and Lillard are similarly elite with their handles, but much more comfortable getting inside the arc or scoring at the rim.
In his career, Curry attempts 8.2 shots from three per game versus 8.9 attempts from two-point range. Yet, his average career shot distance is 17.9 feet. On the other hand, Lillard averages 7.7 attempts from three with a career shot distance of 15.6 feet. In the 2020 playoffs, Murray puts up 7.6 three-point attempts and average shot distance is also 15.6 feet.
Curry takes only 17 percent of his field-goal attempts at the rim and six percent inside of 10 feet. Conversely, Lillard is stronger and less afraid of going inside. He averages 28 percent of his field-goal attempts at the rim and nine percent inside of 10 feet.
In the 2020 playoffs, Murray takes 19 percent of his attempts at the rim with 13 percent of his shots from inside 10 feet.
JAMAL. MURRAY. 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/RsgeKuWDV4
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) September 23, 2020
With Murray playing in such a similar style to Lillard, watch out NBA. Lillard is a five-time All-Star selection and seven-time All-League representative. If Denver continues to run its offense around this young guard, you can bet Murray will continue to blossom. His superstar status is coming.
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