“*Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets:*
**NBA Insider**
There’s a new source of motivation for a man with a thirst for proving people wrong.
Jamal Murray was not included as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team when the final seven selections were announced on Thursday. It wasn’t a huge surprise given the other guards he’s competing with for limited spots. But the snub is a little added motivation.
“Yeah, of course,” Murray confirmed after he stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal in Sunday’s win over Portland. “But I mean, there’s multiple players in the league that should be All-Stars, you know what I’m saying. I think (De’Aaron) Fox was an All-Star.”
Fox, averaging 27.5 points, 5.4 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.8 steals through Sacramento’s first 42 games, suffered the same fate as Murray. The Western Conference’s All-Star backcourt will be led by a starting duo featuring Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas’s Luka Doncic, while Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards are the reserves. They’re all deserving candidates with a varied résumés.”
Article by Vinny Benedetto is not paywalled.
steve1186
I mean, it’s hard to put Jamal over SGA/Fox/Curry/Luka/Booker/Edwards
RunningForIt
I don’t get why I keep seeing this in the media. He was hurt and missed a bunch of games and he doesn’t have the counting stats as other guards. Makes sense.
pfeifits
Murray is punished to some extent by the style of play the Nuggets use. Normally, he would be close to the lead in assists running pick and roll as the primary ball handler and scorer. With Jokic, the offense runs through him (and with good reason) and he picks up a lot of those assists that Murray would have. Plus, the Nuggets spread their scoring around more than most teams. They play for the best shot, not necessarily feeding the stars. It’s winning basketball, but not the star worship basketball common in most of the NBA.
OhWhatsInaWonderball
Honestly I know it means something for Murray financially but for fans who gives a flying fuck? Murray shows up when it matters. Would you rather have 3x all star Bradley Beal or Jamal Murray come playoffs?
n0t_malstroem
Wow what is he gonna do? Spam hero ball and chuck 30+ shots while refusing to pass the ball to his teammates trying to get into the All NBA like he already does every game?
NecessaryFly1996
Jamal Murray, future WCFMVP and FMVP
AdmiralAckbarrghh
I love Jamal but where is this snub stuff coming from? He’s not an all star, who would you pull from the current all star roster to put him on the team? Jamal’s been inconsistent in scoring, which is the main thing that gets guards to the asg, and missed significant time to injury.
This is kind of like the lebron mvp stuff. Looking back at an overall body of work to determine single season awards doesn’t work
8 Comments
“*Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets:*
**NBA Insider**
There’s a new source of motivation for a man with a thirst for proving people wrong.
Jamal Murray was not included as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team when the final seven selections were announced on Thursday. It wasn’t a huge surprise given the other guards he’s competing with for limited spots. But the snub is a little added motivation.
“Yeah, of course,” Murray confirmed after he stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal in Sunday’s win over Portland. “But I mean, there’s multiple players in the league that should be All-Stars, you know what I’m saying. I think (De’Aaron) Fox was an All-Star.”
Fox, averaging 27.5 points, 5.4 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.8 steals through Sacramento’s first 42 games, suffered the same fate as Murray. The Western Conference’s All-Star backcourt will be led by a starting duo featuring Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas’s Luka Doncic, while Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards are the reserves. They’re all deserving candidates with a varied résumés.”
Article by Vinny Benedetto is not paywalled.
I mean, it’s hard to put Jamal over SGA/Fox/Curry/Luka/Booker/Edwards
I don’t get why I keep seeing this in the media. He was hurt and missed a bunch of games and he doesn’t have the counting stats as other guards. Makes sense.
Murray is punished to some extent by the style of play the Nuggets use. Normally, he would be close to the lead in assists running pick and roll as the primary ball handler and scorer. With Jokic, the offense runs through him (and with good reason) and he picks up a lot of those assists that Murray would have. Plus, the Nuggets spread their scoring around more than most teams. They play for the best shot, not necessarily feeding the stars. It’s winning basketball, but not the star worship basketball common in most of the NBA.
Honestly I know it means something for Murray financially but for fans who gives a flying fuck? Murray shows up when it matters. Would you rather have 3x all star Bradley Beal or Jamal Murray come playoffs?
Wow what is he gonna do? Spam hero ball and chuck 30+ shots while refusing to pass the ball to his teammates trying to get into the All NBA like he already does every game?
Jamal Murray, future WCFMVP and FMVP
I love Jamal but where is this snub stuff coming from? He’s not an all star, who would you pull from the current all star roster to put him on the team? Jamal’s been inconsistent in scoring, which is the main thing that gets guards to the asg, and missed significant time to injury.
This is kind of like the lebron mvp stuff. Looking back at an overall body of work to determine single season awards doesn’t work