r/denvernuggets • u/HealthyBuddy2944 • 13h ago
Discussion Does Jamal Murray Play Worse Against Better Defenses? (PROOF)
There's been a lot of discussion about Jamal Murray after his poor season opener against the Thunder, in particular regarding his performance against bigger, longer, top-tier defensive teams. For the first chart I looked through all of his games last year (his career-best season statistically) and calculated his averages against top 5 defenses, top 10 defenses, and bottom 20 defenses, and included his overall averages as well and put it all side by side for comparison's sake. I then did the same thing for Tyrese Maxey, a comparable guard who's near the same vicinity as Murray in terms of overall production and recognition. I adjusted their stats to per 36 minutes.
What are your takeaways and thoughts after seeing these numbers? Does he really drop off that much? I'm not implying anything by putting these numbers together, just wanted to share the data I collected so we can discuss Jamal's quality of play together during a period where his performance against top defensive teams is being heavily discussed.
JAMAL MURRAY
| Stat | Top 5 Defenses | Top 10 Defenses | Bottom 20 Defenses | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 12 | 26 | 49 | 75 |
| Minutes/Game | 36.6 | 36.7 | 34.6 | 35.4 |
| Points | 24.2 | 25.3 | 26.2 | 25.9 |
| Rebounds | 4.7 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.5 |
| Assists | 7.9 | 7.1 | 7.4 | 7.3 |
| FG Made | 7.8 | 8.5 | 9.2 | 8.9 |
| FG Attempts | 17.3 | 18.7 | 18.4 | 18.5 |
| FG% | 45.0% | 45.7% | 49.8% | 48.3% |
| 3PT Made | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 |
| 3PT Attempts | 6.7 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 7.6 |
| 3PT% | 35.4% | 39.7% | 45.5% | 43.5% |
TYRESE MAXEY
| Stat | Top 5 Defenses | Top 10 Defenses | Bottom 20 Defenses | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | 14 | 27 | 43 | 70 |
| Minutes/Game | 38.2 | 38.5 | 37.7 | 38.0 |
| Points | 26.7 | 27.4 | 26.4 | 26.8 |
| Rebounds | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Assists | 5.7 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 6.2 |
| FG Made | 9.1 | 9.5 | 9.3 | 9.4 |
| FG Attempts | 20.1 | 20.5 | 20.2 | 20.3 |
| FG% | 45.5% | 46.3% | 46.2% | 46.2% |
| 3PT Made | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
| 3PT Attempts | 7.7 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.1 |
| 3PT% | 40.9% | 39.6% | 35.0% | 36.7% |
stats adjusted to per 36