The Nuggets miss Jamal Murray’s mental toughness most of all

The Nuggets desperately miss Jamal Murray. That’s obvious. What team wouldn’t miss an All-Star talent capable of a scoring explosion on any given night running their offense?

Murray’s torn ACL not only crashed the Nuggets playoff hopes a year ago, but it also sent a chain reaction down the rotation that’s tough for any team to overcome. Monte Morris had a rough start to the season and has only been okay as the starting point guard since. Facu Campazzo has been forced into a backup point guard role and been exposed as the third guard he truly should be on a good team.

Add the injuries to Michael Porter Jr. and P.J. Dozier forcing Denver to make additional rotation adjustments, and you get a team struggling to stay at .500 despite Nikola Jokic having one of the best if not the best statistical seasons in basketball history.

Missing Murray’s talent is easy to see on the court, but the Nuggets current road trip has revealed another of Murray’s strengths that the team is sorely missing – his extraordinary mental toughness.

Bad losses in Orlando and Chicago, and an overtime win that they squeaked out in New Orleans, showed us a Nuggets team that appears to be exhausted and often listless. Leaving shooters wide open, settling for long jumpers instead of attacking the basket, getting beat on inbounds plays and transition layups, and giving up cheap offensive rebound put-backs have doomed the Nuggets too many times already this season. In key stretches that a leader like Murray could help them weather an opponent’s flurry, they simply appear out of gas too often.

It’s resulted in Jokic being forced to carry this M*A*S*H unit across the finish line night after night, and he emptied his tank just to close out an overtime win against the 7-20 Pelicans. No one would have blamed him if he took a load management night off in the back-to-back at San Antonio on Thursday, and many including myself recommended that he should. But there he was again, putting up another triple-double while the team gave up 74 first-half points to the Spurs. That’s an enormous problem only 25 games into the season.

Denver made NBA playoff history by overcoming two separate 3-1 deficits in the bubble two seasons ago. Jokic was amazing then and has been since, proving to be one of the most unflappable clutch athletes in sports. But Murray was particularly special when the going got tough.

Down 2-1 to Utah, Murray put up 50- and 42-point performances the next two games to begin the comeback charge. Then in game six, he authored a 50-point, five-rebound, six-assist masterpiece in 43 minutes that stands alone as the greatest single-game performance in Nuggets history to force a game seven. Jokic then carried the Nuggets home with 30 points and 14 rebounds to clinch the series.

When faced with the same 3-1 deficit against the Clippers in round two, Murray again came out swinging putting up 21 and 26 points in games five and six, before exploding for 40 in a game seven blowout win to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Bubble Murray produced the most memorable performances, but they were a result of his focus and mental make-up. Like Jokic, Murray doesn’t succumb to fatigue. A lifetime of preparation from a father who studied Kung-Fu and preached meditation, breathing and mental clarity have helped make Murray into both a deadeye shooter and the stone-cold assassin that rips the heart out of other teams even when Denver appears down-and-out. It’s also why many people believe he will return from injury stronger and better than ever.

Now I’m not suggesting that any current Nuggets player isn’t tough, or would be capable of Murray-like performances if they were just a little more focused. That’s not fair to them, or Murray. What I am saying is this team is letting winnable games get away simply because sometimes they’re not committing to the game plan or their best effort game in and game out. As a result, it’s putting an excessive burden on Jokic.

Aside from physical talents, Murray and Jokic are great players because they are cut from the same cloth. They are fighters, winners, and they don’t take nights off. Talent wins, but not without great determination and perseverance. Denver can’t just wait for Murray to come to the rescue, they need help now. If the Nuggets are going to do anything more than just survive until his return, the rest of the roster needs to follow its two leaders and bring more energy and attitude to the fight every night.