Nikola Jokic is the best player on the Denver Nuggets, there are no two ways to look at it. But Jamal Murray has been having a phenomenal postseason as well.
He has been perfectly fulfilling the role of Robin to Jokic’s Batman. But Murray was kept quiet in Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals as he recorded 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 7-15 from the field. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr applauded the Miami Heat for making a key adjustment involving Murry which resulted in the Game 2 win for them.
“You mentioned them starting Love,” Kerr said in a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show. “That allowed Jimmy Butler to guard Murray. I haven’t talked to Spo or anything like that, but I can see them in their coaching meeting saying, ‘Murray is the head of the snake, not Jokic.’
“He’s gonna dominate no matter what we do. So we got this guy [Murray], this is the head of the snake. I think they just decided, ‘Murray is the guy we gotta stop,’ so you start Love, put Jimmy Butler on Murray. And then you saw they were blitzing Murray quite a bit and really tried everything to take him out of the game.”
Steve Kerr and @Money23Green reveal the key adjustment Miami made in Game 2 win
Elite basketball conversation 🍿 @TheVolumeSports https://t.co/IcMeFsyhnW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 5, 2023
As explained by Kerr and Green, it’s almost impossible to stop Nikola Jokic from dominating the game. But stopping Jamal Murray can even out the field for the Heat.
After all, Murray is averaging a stunning 27.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 6.6 APG in the postseason.
Jimmy Butler Admitted Stopping Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray Is Difficult
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have elevated their game to the next level in the 2023 NBA playoffs. So much so that they have a chance to become the highest-scoring duo to win an NBA Championship since Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Keeping that in mind, Jimmy Butler recently spoke about how hard it is to guard the Denver Nuggets’ star duo.
“Tough, tough,” Butler said. “They do everything well. You got to guard both of them a majority of the time with two people. We got to figure out that because that’s coming at us every possession, if not every possession, damn sure every other possession.”
Starting Kevin Love turned out to be a great decision by head coach Erik Spoelstra. It allowed Butler to guard Murray and somewhat slow him down.
How will the Nuggets respond to the adjustment made by Spoelstra? We will find out in Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Miami.
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