Hey there, Last Night In Basketballers — I am, as I do every year, re-appropriating the Three Things I Noticed on League Pass format to preview the upcoming season. Instead of three things I noticed, it’ll be something more along the lines of three things I’m looking forward to, interested in, or want to see. Some of them might be narrative-based, some might be stats, and some might include video. But they'll all be focused on the 2026-27 campaign.
The schedule for those posts will be as follows (podcasts previewing each division with Mo Dakhil are in parentheses):
- Atlantic Division (BOS, BKN, NYK, PHI, TOR) (Podcast)
- Central Division (CHI, CLE, DET, IND, MIL) (Podcast)
- Southeast Division (ATL, CHA, MIA, ORL, WAS) (Podcast)
- Pacific Division (GSW, LAC, LAL, PHX, SAC) (Podcast)
- Northwest Division (DEN, MIN, OKC, POR, UTA) (Podcast)
- Southwest Division (DAL, HOU, MEM, NOP, SAS) (Podcast)
So without further ado, let's get to the Denver Nuggets, who
Just a heads up: the next few editions of this preview might be shorter than usual because I am currently out of town on a personal trip.
Jamal Murray, encore
For most of his career, Murray has tended to be a slow starter who turns it on later in the season and then sometimes really turns it on in the playoffs. (That second part did not happen last year. It hasn't really happened since the title run, actually. But that's neither here nor there as it pertains to this point I'm making.) He's an offense-driven player, so you can see this most obviously in his shooting numbers.
Murray shoots 42.3% from the field and 32.2% from three in October games. Both of those figures are his worst for any month. He shoots 43.8% from the field and 36.6% from three in November games. Both of those figures are his second-worst for any month. See where I'm going with this? He starts slow and the light tends to come on in December and January, and he carries that through the rest of the year.
Last year, though, that wasn't the case. Murray shot 51.6% overall and 39.4% from deep in five October games and 47.3% overall and 41.4% from three in November. He got off to a hot start, stayed hot for most of the season (he did have a lull in February, shooting 44% from the field and 34.1% from three), and as a result, had the best offensive season of his career: His 25.4 points per game and 7.1 assists per game were each by far career highs, as were his 57.3 effective field-goal percentage and 62.2 true-shooting percentage. And he did it on what was tied for the highest usage rate of his career (27.9%), smashing the typical usage-efficiency tradeoff.
Ultimately, he was named an All-Star for the first time and made Third Team All-NBA. Now, my question is whether he can start hot and stay hot again. He's 29 years old, firmly in the prime of his career. Last year, you could see all of the physical and mental faculties working together at the highest level. Barring injury, there's no real reason to expect a drop-off from one year to the next. I want to see him carry this stuff over and maintain All-Star-level play all year long, rather than having to round into form six or so weeks into the season.