The Nuggets Should Try The Handcuff Rotation
Jamal Murray doesn't need the bench, and the bench may not need Murray
What’s best for Jamal Murray, and is that the same as what’s best for the Nuggets?
I typically leave the rotation-obsessive analysis to my colleague Ryan Blackburn, but there’s a trend that I think has to be accounted for.
A few weeks ago, before Joker came back, Murray mentioned in passing that one of the reasons for his excellent play over the last 18 games, particularly in the stretch without Jokic, was playing more in the first quarter.1
He talked about how it enabled him to find a rhythm before he checked out, and get more of a run before going and sitting and then coming back in.
For years, Murray has staggered with the second unit, because the Nuggets needed someone who could create a shot in the second unit on the floor. The numbers were always pretty bad2 but it couldn’t be helped.
A common fan misconception is that the coach makes the rotation. That’s true in college, and it’s true on young teams without stars. Once you make the money, though, the stars set their rotations and everyone else fills in around that based on their priority and preference, if they have any.
Joker wants to play the majority-to-entire first quarter for much of the same reasons Murray does. It allows him to find his rhythm, and it’s simpler. Start, play, sit, return, play, halftime, start, play, sit, return, play, end of game.
Jokic, for what it’s worth, will always say he just goes where they tell him, and the coach makes all the decisions, and he’s just part of the team and blah, blah, blah. It’s fine, I get it, but it’s also patently false. That’s OK, he is the most important person in the franchise, he should play in the pattern he wants.
The thing is… Murray is right to believe that playing longer in the first and 3rd quarters helps his game.
