Denver Nuggets: 5 reasons why the Nuggs can win the West
By Tyler Hurst
2. A Healthy Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
One thing the Nuggets do so well is utilize a variety of scoring options to that the burden doesn’t just fall on a couple of players. Jokic is averaging 25 points per game, but there are three guys behind him averaging about 17-18 points a night adding balance to an already dangerous offense. Two of those players are Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. who both find themselves healthy for the first time in a while.
Murray missed the entire 2021-22 season with an ACL tear and Porter Jr. was only able to play in nine contests before he was ultimately sidelined himself. The team felt the loss as they only went 48-34 and finished as the sixth seed in the West. These two are essential to the success of the Nuggets and they are finally showing their full potential this year.
Murray has had a slightly slow start this year but he is still averaging 18.3 points and nearly six assists per game on 43.8% from the field. That might not sound down but before injury Murray was averaging over 21 points and shooting nearly 48%. He is still getting comfortable again after not seeing NBA action for over 500 days, but if the Nuggets are looking this good now, they could become even scarier later on.
Porter Jr. on the other hand, has had health issues ever since entering the league. He hasn’t been completely out of the woods this year as he missed a few games earlier in the season already with a left foot injury, but he seems to be the healthiest he’s ever been and is looking to play the most games in his short career.
That bodes well for the Nuggets.
A healthy Porter Jr. is averaging nearly 17 points, and six rebounds per game on 47.3% from the field and 42% from deep. He has shown an innate ability to take over games at any given moment as referenced by his 30-point efficient outing recently against Sacramento.
The former No. 1 high school recruit in the country’s health is always going to be a concern, but if Denver can keep him healthy, they will continue to have one of the most dangerous offenses in the league.