Murray leads Canadian charge for Olympic spot
Nuggets guard ‘set the tone’ for fellow pros to play in qualifier for their home country
Jamal Murray is at the forefront of Canadian players in the NBA and it’s a position he doesn’t take lightly. He’s the second-best player on a Denver Nuggets team sitting in second place in the Western Conference and dropped six three-pointers on the Toronto Raptors to fuel Sunday’s 133-118 victory.
The native of Kitchener, Ont., was the first high-profile player to commit to this June’s lastchance Olympic qualifying tournament and a potential Japan Games appearance beyond that, spurring a number of others to do the same, something Murray was happy to see.
“Yeah, it set the tone and obviously, everybody followed suit, so it was good,” Murray said before expressing some caution, due to what is going on around the world.
“The coronavirus kind of put things on hold a little bit, kind of made things a little iffy, but if we do go, it’s going to be (fun).”
The International Olympic Committee and Japan Games organizers are still mulling and evaluating whether the Olympics will go ahead as planned. In any event, Murray and Canada need to first win the tournament in Victoria to even think about making the trip.
Murray showcased what he can provide to a Canadian team by coming out guns blazing against the Raptors on Sunday, nailing his first five three-pointers. He also had five assists in the game and has been on fire over his last 10 games, averaging 23.4 points, with a .539/.435/.750 shooting split, along with 5.6 assists.
Murray had previously struggled at times this season, but said an injury absence was actually a blessing in disguise.
“Just locked in,” he said when asked what has changed since his return to action. “Got two weeks off, mental break, physical break, refreshed, came back ready to be sharp and play the way I’m playing. This is just the start. I’m trying to hold myself to a higher standard each and every night.”
Murray is supremely confident, though always in control, so the slump never bothered him. Nor did Toronto’s attempts to slow him down following the big start.
“They did a box-and-one, but that doesn’t change how we play. Still got some great looks and we ran away with it. If they’re going to do that, Joker’s (the sublime Nikola Jokic) going to be passing the ball 4-on-4, I mean, that’s even better,” Murray said.
“We did a great job just moving the ball. We played aggressive and the refs let us play, for the most part, on both ends and we just ran away with it.”
Though Murray grew up a Raptors fan, he said he doesn’t get any more up for games against them in Colorado.
“Only when I play (in Toronto). Here, it’s just another home game for me. But when I go there the energy is definitely different,” he said.
When Golden State signed Mychal Mulder to a 10-day contract recently, it brought the number of Canucks on the roster of teams in the world’s best basketball league to 22 this season, a new high (only the United States has more NBA players).
Mulder, undrafted after playing sparsely in two seasons under John Calipari at Kentucky, had been one of the NBA G League’s best shooters the past two years (including 3.9 made three-pointers on 40 per cent accuracy a night this season) and has taken advantage of all of the Warriors’ injuries to make an impact. The 25-year-old, who hails from Windsor, Ont., has averaged 11 points and four rebounds in three games for Golden State, including an 18-point comeback win over Phoenix that had head coach Steve Kerr saying Mulder “sparked us.” Kerr was impressed that Mulder didn’t let a bunch of early misses impact him and also noted his strong defence on Suns all-star Devin Booker.
Murray played at Kentucky with Mulder and was happy for him.
“It’s great. I congratulate him. I knew he was going to do well over there. He deserves it more than anybody I know, so it’s good to see him get this opportunity and help us (Canadians) set a record,” Murray said.
The silver lining in Sunday’s loss for Toronto was the brilliant play of forward OG Anunoby. A game after registering a careerbest six steals, Anunoby had seven swipes, tied with six other players (including teammate Fred Vanvleet) for the most by any player this season.
“He’s really got a knack for stealing in two different ways, as a primary defender and he’s got good hands sneaking in there as a secondary guy on a dribbler sometimes,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse.
“We’ve put him on some really good players here lately, he starts tonight on Jokic, a little bit unorthodox to do, but he’s taking the challenge of trying to be the guy that’s going to be that defensive stopper we need him to be. Man, he’s been really good, was really good.”
Anunoby, looking a bit like Deion Sanders, took three of his steals back the other way for dunks.
“We were all trying to be aggressive, pressure the ball, and then just try and make plays on the ball,” said Anunoby, a man of few words.
Anunoby added he could have done better against Jokic, who picked out teammate after teammate with passes that former NFL great Peyton Manning, who was in attendance, would have been proud to toss. Anunoby made some great cuts of his own and finished with a new high of 31 points.
“He’s been excellent. Really proud of him, the way he’s been playing, and just want him to continue to,” said Raptors teammate Pascal Siakam.
While Siakam is also an excellent defender, Nurse said he expects Anunoby, who has made a case for an all-nba defensive team spot, to get the toughest assignments the rest of the way.
“I would think so. Unless there’s just some type of matchup that doesn’t ... he goes probably two through four and goes to five tonight because we’re missing our (centres), but he’s going to get a key guy on the wing up to the five spot,” Nurse said.
This is just the start.
I’m trying to hold myself to a higher standard each and every night.