MURRAY OWNS UP
Tweets after loss to Warriors
An incriminating Nuggets trend reared its ugly head Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center with their 16-point letdown against the lowly Warriors marking a 10th loss this season to a sub.-500 team.
Those head-scratching outcomes make up for half of all Denver defeats this season.
“When we play those teams, let’s be honest, it’s black-andwhite,” coach Michael Malone said. “We have had issues.”
The Nuggets have now lost to the Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Kings, Pelicans (twice) and Warriors. Then again, Denver has also recorded wins over some of the NBA’s best in the Clippers, Lakers, Raptors and Rockets (twice). What gives?
“It happens,” center Nikola Jokic said. “We can beat the best (team) record-wise and we can lose to the worst record-wise. (The Warriors) came here, made a lot of shots and they were aggressive. They were passing the ball. They won the game.”
The Nuggets (41-20) once again enter a winnable matchup Thursday night at the Charlotte Hornets (21-40), whose struggles might ultimately spell trouble for Denver.
“The good news is most of (those losing teams) won’t be in the playoffs,” center Mason Plumlee said. “I’m not sure what it is, but we haven’t been good against those teams. We have a few more of them at the end of the month, and we’ll have to be better.”
Murray takes the blame. Jamal Murray struggled to find answers in the Nuggets postgame locker room Tuesday when asked why the team’s defensive lapses have risen since the AllStar break.
“If I could change it, I would right now,” Murray said. “We’ve just got to be better.”
At 10:21 p.m., long after the final buzzer at Pepsi Center, Murray (@BeMore27) posted on Twitter to own-up for the team’s recent slide (3-3 since the All
Star break). Murray wrote: “Put that game on me. I gotta be better on both ends. Nuggets fans We’ll be alright!!”
“We’ve got to be more locked in,” Murray told reporters Tuesday night. “We show up and think we can just beat teams like we have been early on in the season. When teams play hard like that, we’ve got to adjust something, because nothing is going to change (if we don’t).”
Nuggets to add Daniels. The Nuggets are finalizing a deal with veteran guard Troy Daniels, a league source confirmed to The Denver Post.
Daniels, who was recently waived by the Lakers, averaged 4.2 points in 11.1 minutes for Los
Angeles this season. He was also shooting nearly 36% from 3point range over 41 games.
Daniels has spent parts of seven seasons in the NBA, including stints with Houston, Charlotte, Minnesota, Memphis and Phoenix. It’s likely he understands the Nuggets’ depth and is aware that minutes could be scarce. Denver released guard Jordan McRae earlier this week after he was unable to develop a role with the team following his trade from Washington.
The Nuggets’ roster now stands at 16, including a pair of two-way players, with one potential spot available.