Friday Faceoff: Which Jamal Murray will the Nuggets get in Clippers series?

Paul Klee, sports editor

Answer: The playoffs version

Count this guy as a Jamal Murray believer — from April through the month of June.

A slow starter, Murray sheds his office wear for a cape come playoff time. His postseasons are the stuff of Colorado legend: 24.2 points per game on 45.9% shooting under the brightest lights.

And aren’t his postseason glow-ups why the Nuggets awarded him a $207 million contract?

While Murray can pout like a 4-year-old and lob heating pads onto the court when the hoops life doesn’t treat him well, I’m old enough to remember his 14 playoff games of at least 34 points, including a pair of 50-point masterpieces during the NBA’s ridiculous bubble in 2020.

Murray at his best is Joe Sakic, Terrell Davis and Carmelo Anthony in a postseason setting.

Count interim coach David Adelman as a Murray believer, too. I remember a conversation with Adelman in a hallway after a Nuggets win over the Miami Heat during the 2023 NBA Finals.

“Relentless,” is how Adelman described Murray’s triple-double of 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a Game 3 triumph in south Florida.

The Nuggets must be relentless to slow down a Clippers outfit that’s won eight straight games.

This series is going a full seven games. Book it.

And the Nuggets advance to face the Thunder by the hair on Murray’s chinny-chin-chin.

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Vinny Benedetto, Nuggets beat writer

Answer: The frustrated version

Jamal Murray needs some help against teams like the Clippers, which finished the regular season with the NBA’s third-best defensive rating behind only Oklahoma City and Orlando.

Those physical defenses with multiple options to defend Murray can lead to a lot of frustration for the Nuggets’ lead guard. Murray’s going to need some effective screens from his teammates to get free.

It’s going to start with Kris Dunn, who’s been a revelation in his first season with the Clippers and would’ve been a strong candidate for all-defense honors had he played more than 20 minutes in enough games. Dunn playing a larger role against Murray and the Nuggets is a safe bet, but Murray could also see guys like Norman Powell and even Kawhi Leonard for stretches.

That isn’t going to make for a very fun series for Murray, who has rightfully established himself as one of the game’s top playoff performers.

A hamstring issue cost Murray six games in the final weeks of the regular season before he returned for Denver’s final two regular season games. If the week off wasn’t enough time to get to 100%, that’s going to make this series even more frustrating for Murray, who went 11 for 28 (39.3%) in the two games leading into the postseason.

The Nuggets will still get past the Clippers, but it takes a monster performance from Nikola Jokic across six games to get it done.