Keeler: Nuggets gambled on Jamal Murray and lost. Now it’s wasting Nikola Jokic’s MVP peak.
A dynasty dies nastier by the day Has an NBA association ever wasted greatness the way the Nuggets are wasting Nikola Jokic right now The best member in the world is playing the best basketball of his career for a roster that doesn t play defense doesn t listen to its coach and doesn t have the depth to weather the storm This month in games that matter for NBA playoff seeding the Joker s averaged points rebounds and assists over three tilts Denver is - The better he looks the more it hurts His Nuggets meanwhile look like a first-round exit just waiting to happen Funny isn t it Steph Curry never won a title without Klay Thompson Michael Jordan never won a ring without Scottie Pippen The Joker won t win a second without a healthy Jamal Murray Over the last four NBA decades legends that landed a second parade by and large had superlative and reliable sidekicks helping carry the weight At his apex Murray is as superlative as they come Reliable Not so much The Blue Arrow just isn t that guy Oh he can be that guy and that s what drives you and hopefully him a little nuts When he s right Murray is a video-game glitch come to life a jump shot that s seemingly unfailingly on fire His postseason work in and was so exquisite it could hang from the Louvre But he also missed the and postseasons entirely to a torn ACL and subsequent recovery He limped through the playoffs And who knows what happens at the end of this month Related Articles For Nuggets NBA playoffs have already started after -game losing streak imperils season We re a little bit down Nuggets flirting with Play-In Tournament on first -game losing streak of season after loss to Pacers Michael Malone Injured Jamal Murray hopefully will be available for start of NBA playoffs Nuggets attempting to balance playoff seeding rest in final games We don t fear anybody Grading The Week Anthony Edwards Minnesota Timberwolves didn t just beat Nuggets They broke them It s time to keep your blue-and-gold rosary beads in one hand and a bottle of Pepto Bismol within reach of the other Head coach Michael Malone stated reporters before Sunday s match vs Indiana that he hoped to have Murray back to begin the playoffs His teammates then honored the Blue Arrow s absence by dropping a fourth straight contest What was it John Elway liked to say about Garett Bolles Availability s an ability too Let s be clear The Nuggets don t win a championship two years ago without Murray dropping daggers for fun But let s also be real The Nuggets also may not win another championship with Jokic in part because of the franchise s loyalty to No The Nuggets could use an enema Everything that isn t Joker or Aaron Gordon has gotta go But Murray s four-year -million extension through makes his contract about as easy to move as a baby grand up flights of stairs Hindsight isn t just of class it s - which is Denver s postseason record since without Murray in the lineup They need him Badly They just can t count on him to be healthy Not anymore Nor is it all on the Arrow s tab It took several hands to sully a championship roster a few of them long gone Tim Connelly s max contract for Michael Porter Jr seemed premature then and looks borderline painful now When you ride The Russell Westbrook Express those tickets are non-refundable Is it Murray s fault that the Nuggets rotate on the defensive end with all the speed of an old battleship Or that the bench is invisible This league is a grind the mileage catches up with everybody eventually But it s also worth noting that Pippen played in at least regular-season games in each of his first NBA seasons Point of comparison Murray s done that just three times all before the age of Since the - season the Ontario native s averaged regular-season appearances When it comes to the Arrow s accessibility it s not a bug anymore It s a feature Stan Kroenke splashed the cash Josh Kroenke rolled the dice They lost Jokic s losing too And that s the part that kills you He s The front office necessities to surround the Joker ASAP with more shooters he can feed more perimeter defenders who can stop or slow traffic before it gets to him and at least one rim protector Not in two years Not whenever Julian Strawther or Peyton Watson turn another corner Right now Instead Jokic is a savior and a prisoner An icon trying to shield a dysfunctional franchise from the claws of its collective demons An MVP looking for help that may never come When the Nuggets extended Murray last fall it looked like a bargain Flash forward seven months you start to wonder if that bargain was genuinely with Mephistopheles And if the bill s about to come due Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis
