Despite the result, the Nuggets showed some encouraging signs in their 107-105 preseason-opening loss to the Warriors in the Bay Area. Facundo Campazzo was as good as advertised, putting on a gutsy second-half performance while Zeke Nnaji displayed poise that belies his age. There are still areas for improvement, which Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was quick to point out in his Monday presser.Here are the takeaways from Monday’s media availability, which featured Malone, Nnaji, and Jamal MurrayMalone wants Jamal Murray to take a step forward defensivelyMalone was as direct as he could be in laying out his expectations for his lead guard Monday. Murray will need to guard his positional matchup moving forward.“Gone are the days where I’m going to hide Jamal Murray,” Malone said. “If you want to be an All-Star, if you want to be an All-NBA player, you can’t be a liability where we have to hide you on defense. And to Jamal’s credit, he doesn’t want to be hidden. He accepts that challenge.”Murray mostly guarded the Warriors’ Stephen Curry in Saturday’s preseason contest against the Golden State Warriors. Murray did a respectable job, helping hold the two-time league MVP to 3-of-10 shooting. While it is important to remember this was Curry’s first game in nine months due to Golden State missing the playoffs, and most NBA stars are schemed against with multiple defenders, Murray embracing the challenge is a positive development. Malone hopes Murray will continue to approach the defense in the way he did in the postseason, helping the Nuggets to hold opponents to 109.7 points per game (sixth in the NBA playoffs).“He took pride in it. It mattered to him. I think that’s the biggest thing to being a good defensive player,” Malone said. “Every night, Jamal is going to have the opportunity to guard his matchup and I look forward to watching that, helping him and seeing him have that competitive spirit and fight to go out there and try to guard some of the best players in the league.”Murray is looking forward to the challenge.“We’ve lost a few defenders so I’m trying to step up and be that guy,” he said.Murray likes what he sees out of the rookiesRookies Facundo Campazzo, Zeke Nnaji, and R.J. Hampton all played a part in the Nuggets rally from 20 down in the second half and Murray was impressed with what he saw.“They’re horrible, they’re terrible,” Murray initially joked before getting into his thoughts on each. “They’re great, obviously they can hoop.”
Since Hampton is a fellow guard, Murray gave a more detailed assessment of the former New Zealand Breaker, saying the guard is “going to be great” after fine-tuning aspects of his game.“He’s all excited to be out there and stuff,” Murray said. “He’s like a little jackrabbit running around, once he settles down, he’ll be fine.”Murray also had high praise for Campazzo, who is technically considered a rookie despite plenty of playing experience abroad.“Facu was incredible,” Murray said. “He’s just a menace on defense, his anticipation is great. We call him Spiderman because every he pass he does is a one-handed slinger…He’s great he’s going to be incredible for us.”Zeke enjoyed debutNnaji claimed to be nervous heading into his NBA preseason debut. He sure didn’t play that way.The Nuggets' first-year forward dropped seven points (including a three) in 11 minutes, showcasing great offensive instincts and even a block for good measure.“It was a great moment for me, I’ve dreamed about it as a kid to play in an NBA game. Yeah, it’s preseason but it’s still a great feeling to finally be able to be out there and compete.”Nnaji has watched the film of his time on the floor and sees areas where he can improve.“The biggest thing I need to improve on is my defensive positioning, being in the right place off the ball…Rebounding both offensive and defensively, those are my biggest things [to focus on],” Nnaji said.It will be interesting to see if Nnaji takes a step forward in those areas Wednesday against the Blazers in his first game at Ball Arena.