The Leap

Matt Brooks

Welcome to 'The Leap,' a Nuggets.com mini-series highlighting the in-postseason growth of some of Denver's cornerstone players.

For the fifth and final edition of 'The Leap,' we'll be looking at the next steps in Christian Braun's progression.

No player on Denver's roster is more primed for an increase in role and responsibility than Christian Braun.

Braun cracked Michael Malone's playoff rotation as a rookie. He then had numerous key performances and big moments during Denver's roaring run to an NBA title.

Bruce Brown's exit to Indiana opens up opportunities for Braun, who projects as the best option to replace Brown's perimeter defense next season. Braun's instinctual cutting makes him an optimal fill-in, as well, and his explosive fastbreak finishing is another area of overlap.

“I think there’s always a couple of people that don’t think you can step into that role,” Braun responded to the Denver Post's Sean Keeler when asked about trying to replace Brown's impact. “But I always end up rising to that occasion.”

The final step in 'CB's evolution will be a wholesale improvement when putting the ball on the floor, to the degree that he can run the occasion halfcourt set when Denver's reserves are on the floor.

He gave fans a glimpse at what that transformation may look like in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. There, Braun became the fourth rookie to drop at least 15 points in a Finals game in the last 20 years. His team won 109-94 to take a convincing 2-1 series lead.

Braun got himself going by religiously staying active as an off-ball player. His heady cutting was integral in breaking down Miami's 1-3-1 zone defense, which we wrote about extensively back in June. Plays that involved Braun cutting produced 1.56 points per possession in the regular season, good for the 93rd percentile. Doing damage this way was nothing new for the rookie despite it being on the biggest stage.

Braun also graded out well as a transition player in the regular season and generated 1.25 points per transition possession, a 75th percentile rating. He had one especially imposing fastbreak finish in which he went head-to-head with one of the strongest players in the NBA and won by moving Jimmy Butler out of the way for a floating finish.

It was encouraging to see Braun's most polished NBA skills—cutting and scoring in transition—translate to the biggest stage. No doubt.

But there were three plays, in particular, that should have Nuggets fans especially excited about the next evolution of Braun's game.

The first of which occurred in the second quarter. Braun flew off a dribble pitch from Nikola Jokić, took three dribbles, and finished at the rim past Duncan Robinson. It may look like a routine play, but the 22-year-old may see more of these types of reps next season.

Jokić is one of the best screeners in the entire NBA. He's also a more-than-legit three-level scorer who can stroke three-pointers, score among the best in the midrange, and put up an endless supply of buckets around the basket with his all-time post-up skillset. Altogether, it makes him one of the best roll men and handoff hubs in the entire league despite not really being a high-flyer who can cram home alley-oop dunks.

It's easy to play with an offensive player of that caliber, especially when handling the ball. Funny enough, playing alongside Jokić helped Brown improve as a halfcourt player en route to securing a $45 million payday this offseason.

Brown saw his pick-and-roll ballhandling improve fairly linearly over the course of the 2022-23 season as he acclimated to Jokić's game; his PnR efficiency jumped by 39 points per 100 possessions from the regular season to the postseason, the difference between the 19th percentile and the 83rd percentile.

Who's to say that playing alongside The Joker couldn't provoke a similar improvement in Braun's game? The University of Kansas alum is certainly preparing for that type of advancement this offseason, working specifically on his game as a ballhandler.

"I mean, the work has already started. Just doing certain things to expand my game, doing certain things to be a better ballhandler, secondary ballhandler,” Braun told Peeler in July. "With Bruce being gone, I’m gonna have more opportunities like that. I think I’m prepared for that. I mean, that’s just part of your whole career — you take a step up there to (get) here.”

Improving as a ballhandler will help Braun in the rare instances that he's asked to size up an opponent and isolate. In the fourth quarter of Game 3, Braun took on the challenge and zoomed past Caleb Martin, which warped Miami's zone and opened up space for Jokić to swish a short-range jumper.

One minute later, Braun once again put the ball on the floor with confidence and dished to Jokić. This time, however, he began the possession by spotting up in the corner and then selling a super-sweet pump-fake to send Butler flying. From there, he put his head down and knifed towards the cup.

Plays like this can become a regular part of his arsenal should he continue to improve as a three-point shooter, particularly from the corners. Braun averaged a very solid 35.4 percent three-point percentage in the regular season. He saw that percentage dip in the playoffs, but that's understandable given that it was his first-ever postseason.

Three-point shooting is one of the many skills that Braun has been working on this offseason.

"My overall game," said Braun to Peel. "Whether it’s catch-and-shoot, whether it’s hitting free throws this year, things like that, just focus on my game."

Filling Brown's shoes won't be easy. He's one of the most versatile and malleable role players in the entire league that affects both sides of the floor in multiple ways. There's a reason he's now making $22 million annually.

But 'CB' feels like as good of a candidate as there is to do a perfunctory job as Bruce Brown 2.0. All the 22-year-old has done is exceed expectations in his very short NBA career, en route to making history as a rookie in the Finals. He's ready for whatever comes next.

"I want that challenge. I want a bigger role and I think everybody wants a bigger role. But the fact that the Nuggets show confidence in me and our young guys to come in and take over that role and make that next step means a lot to me," Braun told the Post. "And obviously, I’m going to prove them right.”

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The Leap: Christian Braun flashes his next evolution as an offensive player

For the fourth edition of 'The Leap,' we'll be looking at Aaron Gordon's tremendous impact as a post-up player in the NBA Finals.

Aaron Gordon's career trajectory is a fascinating one.

He was drafted by the Orlando Magic fourth overall in the 2014 NBA draft after piecing together one of the finest high school and college resumes in the nation.

Gordon was almost immediately given the reigns of Orlando's offense and did a more than serviceable job as a main option, advancing to the postseason in 2019. Then, when Orlando went into a rebuild, Gordon was sent to Denver in a blockbuster deal.

His role in Denver has been much narrower, and he's been asked to do more specific things. Guard the opposition's best player like his life depends on it. Crash the offensive glass relentlessly. Cut. Always stay moving. Set screens for Denver's ball handlers, roll to the rim with a purpose, and utilize his ridiculous hops to slam home monstrous dunks where no defender can reach him.

Gordon's excelled in that role since first touching down in the Mile High City. It's like he was born to do it. He's been the ultimate high-level glue guy for the franchise. No stretch better emblematized his tremendous value to the team than the 2023 postseason.

In the playoffs, Gordon took on the opposition's best players like he had all season. LeBron James. Kevin Durant. Jimmy Butler. Karl-Anthony Towns. Collectively, he held those four players to just 42.6 percent shooting, well below the league's average shooting percentage of 47.5 percent.

Durant, one of the most efficient players in the league, made just 38.2 percent of his shots when guarded by Gordon. Towns was even less successful at 37 percent with Gordon as the primary defender. Both stars tower over Gordon by 2-to-3 inches, but 'AG' used his physicality to push them off their spots and make them uncomfortable.

He was the lynchpin of Denver's 4th-ranked playoff defense, but in the Finals, Gordon was asked to expand outside of that role. Yes, he continued to guard the opposition's best player, Miami's Jimmy Butler, but Denver brandished Gordon's freakish athleticism and size on offense to build an early 1-0 lead.

Most will point to Gordon's 27-point Game 4 performance as his keystone Finals moment, but Game 1 was when he really put his stamp on the series.

Miami's roster was loaded with talent and top-notch three-point shooting, and it's how they advanced to the NBA Finals as the first 8-seed in more than two decades.

But they had one key weakness. The roster was fairly small across the board. Its center, Bam Adebayo, is just 6'9, and three of its remaining five starters were 6'5 or shorter.

Knowing this, Denver devised a very specific game plan. They used Gordon as a 6'9 battering ram to attack Miami's fatal flaw of size with post-ups.

To do so, they had Gordon streak ahead of the pack after rebounds, find a smaller HEAT player, burrow his way underneath the basket, and seal that player off for unopposed buckets at the cup. It was an excellent way to attack Miami's transition defense, which had previously been near-unpenetrable heading into the Finals.

Denver also utilized Gordon as a screener against Miami's switch-heavy defense, especially when Jamal Murray handled the ball. Gordon would set a screen, his defender (typically Butler) would switch onto Murray, and then Gordon would be served up the switch against Murray's defender. He was especially dogged about attacking 6'2 Gabe Vincent this way.

Overwhelming Miami's guards allowed Gordon to build a rhythm, and he began to start backing down his primary matchups. On paper, Caleb Martin and Butler could at least hope to match AG with size and strength, but Gordon looked utterly unphased and bombarded Miami's wings on overpowering drives to the rim. The HEAT had no answers in single coverage.

So, Miami started to send a second defender on Gordon's post-ups, and the Arizona product responded by zipping a dime to a completely unguarded Michael Porter Jr. in the corner, the regular season's best wide-open three-point shooter according to percentage.

"I felt Aaron really kind of set the tone on both ends of the floor for us," said head coach Michael Malone after Denver's 104-93 victory in Game 1. "He's done that all year long, whether it's in transition versus a cross-match, sitting down, posting up a smaller guy, sealing him in the paint, (and) going up strong."

You could make a pretty strong case that Gordon was one of Denver's three most important players throughout the championship run. He played his role to a tee by guarding some of the best players on the planet while filling the necessary gaps on offense.

Then, when his team needed it most, Gordon tapped into what made him a lead option in Orlando with his vicious back-to-the-basket game. Gordon's post-ups generated 1.48 points per possession in the 2023 postseason, a 96th-percentile ranking. This was a massive jump from the 0.99 points per possession his post-ups produced in the regular season, a 57th-percentile ranking.

That aspect of his expansive skillset handed Denver its inaugural NBA Finals victory and gave the Nuggets a head start on capturing the first championship in franchise history.

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The Leap: Aaron Gordon's advancement as a post-up player

For the third edition of 'The Leap,' we'll be analyzing Nikola Jokić's underrated run as a defender in the 2023 NBA playoffs, highlighted by his lockdown performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Nikola Jokić had one of the greatest playoff runs of all time in the 2023 postseason.

The 27-year-old finished just a hair under averaging a 30-point triple-double with 30 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists in 20 total playoff games. He became the first player in NBA history to total at least 600 points, 190 assists, and 260 rebounds in a playoff run. And he did all of this with remarkable efficiency: 54.8 percent shooting from the field, 56.8 percent from two-point range, 46.1 percent from three-point land, and 79.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Simply put, it was one of the greatest offensive explosions this league has ever seen in a postseason. But that shouldn't overshadow what he did on the other side of the floor.

Denver finished the 2022-23 regular season as a mid-tier defense at 17th overall in defensive rating. That rating jumped all the way up to fourth in the postseason. At the center of that dramatic rise in defensive acuity was Jokić, who held playoff opponents 1.7 percent below their normal shooting percentages when he was the closest defender.

Denver's opponents finished with a below-average offensive rating in 11 of their 20 total playoff games. 4 of those performances occurred in the NBA Finals against the Miami HEAT to help the franchise take home its first-ever Larry O'Brien trophy.

Game 3 against Miami highlighted Denver's run. Not only did the Nuggets win 109-94 to go up 2-1 in the series while on the road, you could make a strong case that the game itself was Jokić finest defensive showcase of his 8-year career. And he did so in the biggest game of his life to tip the scales in Denver's favor.

The catalyst behind Jokić's outstanding performance was his versatility in the pick-and-roll. More specifically, the Serbian center alternated between multiple coverages to keep Miami's offense guessing and executed each of them brilliantly.

There were many things that led to the HEAT becoming the first 8-seed to advance to the NBA Finals since the 2000 New York Knicks. A strong defensive backbone was one of them. The depth of its roster was another.

But by far most significant was Miami's hot three-point shooting. Miami shot better than 43 percent from behind the arc to take down the two best teams in the regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, in the first and third rounds of the playoffs. Heading into the Finals, they were the postseason's best three-point shooting team at 40.7 percent that had nailed an improbable 43.1 percent of their catch-and-shoot looks.

Those percentages fell precipitously in the Finals. Miami made just 34.3 percent of their looks from a distance. The Nuggets also held the HEAT to just 35.7 percent shooting on catch-and-shoots.

Denver was well aware of Miami's reliance on the three-pointer and made it a priority to shut down that aspect of their offensive game plan. They had Jokić play higher up the floor and meet Miami's ball handlers above the three-point line after ball screens. Here's a screenshot of what that looked like.

Having Jokić play "up" or "hedge" pick-and-rolls was a masterful strategy in erasing Miami's three-point game. He played higher up the floor against Miami's three-point specialists: Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, and Kyle Lowry.

But as mentioned, Jokić executed multiple pick-and-roll coverages with proficiency in Game 3, and not just "hedging." He erased Miami's two-point scoring game, as well, with a super-sturdy showing as a drop defender.

Drop coverage is a style of pick-and-roll defense where the big man defends the play at about the free-throw line (instead of near the three-point line like a "hedge"). Ideally, the drop defender's positioning gives him a head start to take away shots at the basket from both the ball-handler and the screener on rolls to the rim. Here's a screenshot of Jokić in a drop coverage from Game 3.

Notice Jokić's positioning just below the free-throw line while Jimmy Butler handles the ball. This is by design. Butler does most of his damage as a scorer inside the arc, so Denver had Jokić drop back whenever Jimmy initiated sets. Drop defense was also utilized when Caleb Martin handled the rock, who similarly feasts near the basket.

Denver's strategy paid off. Handsomely. The HEAT shot just 34.8 percent around the basket in Game 3 largely because of Jokić's relentless protection. To get an idea of just how ridiculous that is, the league's worst at-rim shooting team, Oklahoma City, shot 62.6 percent at the cup in the regular season. This was also the second-lowest at-rim shooting percentage that any team shot against Denver in a game in both the regular season and postseason, a sample that spanned 102 total games.

Jokić's adaptability in the pick-and-roll helped Denver hold Miami to 102.2 points per 100 possessions in Game 3, an 80th-percentile defensive rating.

For all of the talk about beating the Nuggets by simply "putting Jokić in the pick-and-roll," that strategy fell flat on its face in the postseason. Opponents shot just 40 percent from the field whenever Jokić was involved as the pick-and-roll big man.

More importantly, Denver gave up just 0.74 points per possession in the pick-and-roll with Jokić on the floor, an 88th-percentile ranking. Only New York's Mitchell Robinson performed better as a pick-and-roll defender among playoff centers.

He was also excellent at defending the post. Jokić gave up just 0.72 points per post-up play, an 88th percentile ranking.

"He's a really good defender. He's got great hands and a great IQ on defense and knows what the player is trying to get to, tendencies, cat-and-mouse, rule of (verticality), just everything. He talks early in pick-and-rolls. Post defense. There's everything," said Jamal Murray.

"I think he does a great job on defense. Everybody is going to have something that they don't do well on the court, and for that to be the one thing that he doesn't do particularly well and be able to still do it at a high level is pretty impressive. He's been doing it all season. He's been getting better at it, too.

"So, I only see room for improvement for him," Murray concluded with a sly grin.

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The Leap: Nikola Jokić's dominance as a pick-and-roll defender

For the second edition of 'The Leap,' we'll be analyzing Michael Porter Jr.'s growth as an all-around player in the NBA Finals.

Michael Porter Jr. is one of the best shooters in the world. He's a career 41.7 percent three-point sniper. He led the league in unguarded three-point percentage in the 2022-23 regular season.

But in the NBA Finals, that jumper, his most polished weapon as a hooper, abandoned him.

Porter Jr. went just 4-of-28 from three-point range in the Finals. He made two three-pointers just once in five Finals games after making at least two three-pointers in 12 of his 15 previous postseason games. His ability to space the floor is largely why he's been Denver's starting small forward in all but 7 regular season games that he was available in the last three seasons.

Despite his cold streak from deep, Nuggets' head coach Michael Malone chose to stick with his 6'10 sniper against the Miami HEAT in the Finals. He believed in him. Trusted him.

It paid off in the closeout Game 5 when Porter Jr. finished with 16 points, second to only Nikola Jokić's 28 points. Porter Jr.'s jumper was not the story of the game. Far from it. He went 1-of-6 behind the arc.

But 'MPJ' was not discouraged by his fifth-straight game of poor shooting. Instead, he attacked the defense in other ways and stayed active when Miami honed in on Denver's stars, Jokić and Murray.

"I just stayed with it. Even tonight, it wasn't my best shooting night, but I just kept playing hard. That's all you can control is your effort. I could have scored zero points. I don't care, we won a championship. Can't nobody tell me nothing," said Porter Jr. after Denver's 94-89 Finals-clinching win.

He finished three separate plays with a nifty running floater. On one play, Porter Jr. cut downhill off a screen from DeAndre Jordan to get to that right-handed flip shot. Earlier in the quarter, he set a screen for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, "slipped" to the rim, and then got to that trusty floater. In the third quarter, Porter Jr. took out his do-it-himself kit and drove straight into the chest of Bam Adebayo for the runner.

As established, Porter Jr.'s an excellent shooter, the Finals being a massive aberration. He's also a terrific finisher around the basket, shooting at least 67 percent within 4 feet of the rim in three of his four seasons.

But, he's been a sub-36 percent shooter from the "short midrange" according to Cleaning the Glass, the area of the floor where players typically take floaters and hook shots. That ranks within the bottom fourth of the league at his position.

If he can make this right-handed runner a reliable part of his arsenal, it only increases his versatility. He becomes a true blue three-level scorer. And at 6'10, he's got the ability to get that shot off against most defenders, even top-tier centers like Adebayo.

That type of leap isn't unreasonable to fantasize over.

Porter Jr. felt confident enough to not only take but make his floater in the biggest game of his career. On the biggest stage. The NBA Finals. In what many describe as the hardest game to win in a playoff series, a closeout game.

Porter Jr. was also particularly effective in transition. You don't always notice it, but he's one of Denver's fastest players. And certainly one of their best rebounders.

Porter Jr. finished with 12 rebounds, but more importantly, he pushed the pace off misses and helped Denver race off to 19 fastbreak points in Game 5, the most fastbreak points they scored in any game of the series. Miami's notoriously good at containing the transition game and finished the 2023 postseason with the 3rd-best fastbreak defense among teams that advanced past the second round.

It was Porter Jr. who led the dance by beating Miami up the floor. From there, he made pretty passes to teammates to finish with 3 assists. On two plays, he drew in a crowd because of his speed before dishing it to Christian Braun and Jeff Green for shots at the rim. His third and final assist was his best of the night. Once again, MPJ zoomed up the floor after grabbing the rebound. Then, instead of taking it to the rim himself, Porter Jr. absorbed Gabe Vincent and hit Murray right on the screws for a corner three-pointer.

This was not the first time Porter Jr.'s passing jumped off the page in a 2023 playoff game. He finished with 6 assists in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, a career-high for him in the regular season and postseason.

Of course, when Porter Jr. did elect to shoot the ball himself instead of dishing to a teammate on the fastbreak, the results were highlight-worthy. Porter Jr.'s only made three in Game 5 was an audacious transition pull-up in the face of Duncan Robinson. His second fastbreak highlight might've been even more outrageous: a reverse between-the-legs move through two defenders while charging full speed at the rim for a layup, which drew oohs, ahhs, and likely some joyful expletives from the Ball Arena crowd.

Denver is already remarkable at finishing plays on the fastbreak. They were tied with the Philadelphia 76ers as the regular season's most efficient transition team. Yet, the Nuggets finished outside of the top-7 in transition frequency.

Porter Jr. could help Denver increase its fastbreak volume, ripping down boards, peeling off with his impressive north-to-south afterburners, and finishing plays with either buckets or passes to teammates. Game 5, when Denver finished with its most fastbreak points all series against Miami, was the keystone example of just how valuable that skillset can be in the years ahead.

"It's a maturation, a continued maturation. We all know that Michael didn't shoot the ball as well as we know he can. That's going to happen at times. This is a great experience for him because I think he realized, as I continue to tell our team, there are no specialists allowed on this squad," said Malone after the NBA Finals victory. "If your jump shot is not falling, do something else to help teammates. Not yourself, help your teammates—defending, rebounding, hustling, whatever it may be."

There are other things Porter Jr. can improve on. But there's beauty in MPJ achieving this level of success so early; he's got time. He's only 24 years old and has played in just 236 total regular season and postseason games, equivalent to just under 3 NBA seasons. And now, he's won an NBA championship.

Three separate back surgeries have not disrupted his progress. He entered the league as one of the best shooters in the world, and he's maintained that. He's consistently been an above-average rebounder at his position and an awesome at-rim finisher. His defense has continuously evolved, as well, peaking in the 2023 postseason. Now, he's starting to show hints of additional layers to his game: possibly a floater and enhanced floor-reading. If everything clicks, he might become a one-man fastbreak force.

There's a reason that every level of the Nuggets—the coaching staff, its front office, heck, even their fans—is so high on Porter Jr. The sky is the limit. He's just scratching the surface of his potential.

"Shoutout to Mike," said Murray after Denver won its first NBA Finals. "He's gone through so many different injuries and to see him constantly locked in, be a team player, grow his game in different aspects, have an all-around game even if he's not shooting well."

Perhaps Game 5 was a glimpse into his bright, multifaceted future.

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The Leap: Michael Porter Jr. explores his lofty ceiling

For the inaugural edition of 'The Leap,' we'll be analyzing Jamal Murray's growth as a passer in the NBA Finals and the masterpiece he painted in Game 4.

He put up a record-breaking 53 combined points in three quarters of play between Games 2 and 3 of the Western Conference Finals. He's averaged at least 26 points in two of his three postseason runs. He dropped at least 30 points eight separate times and broke 35 points on three occasions in 20 total playoff games in 2023.

He's the perfect yin to Nikola Jokić's yang because of his explosive scoring ability. Nikola typically does damage as a passer and ranked fourth in assists per game with 9.7 during the regular season. Murray's efficient scoring from all three levels of the floor completes their synergy.

In the Finals, however, their roles flipped.

There was much discussion about whether the HEAT intentionally "turned Jokić into a scorer," and Miami held the Joker to just 4 total assists in three separate Finals games. Overall, he averaged 7.2 dimes in the Finals, his fewest assists per game in any 2023 playoff series.

Instead, Jokić took on the scoring mantle with 30.2 points per game, in large part why he won Finals MVP.

But he wasn't the only Nugget to undergo a role makeover.

Murray, too, showcased malleability to secure Denver's first NBA championship in franchise history. Murray averaged 21.4 points in the Finals, his fewest points per game in all four playoff rounds, but he contributed by taking on some of Jokić's playmaking load.

Murray averaged 10 assists in the Finals, a personal best for him in any playoff series. He was remarkably consistent with his passing, as well, tossing out at least 10 dimes in four of the five games. He led the Finals in total assists with 50—14 more than the second-place Jokić.

Sometimes, we're far too rigid with how we evaluate players and their progression. Murray is an all-world scorer. A clutch performer. We know this. But against Miami, he gave fans a glimpse at just how much more growth is still on the table for him. The NBA Finals was his pièce de résistance as a passer, his zenith. And he's just 26 years old; he's got plenty of time to continue to excel as a creator for others.

After Denver's Game 2 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals, Michael Malone preached the importance of malleability. He told reporters, "In the playoffs, you can’t be a specialist. Specialists don’t play in the playoffs."

Murray's adaptability as a star player was on full display in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. He had a rare off-night as a scorer, finishing with just 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting, but that didn't stop him from positively impacting the game. Instead of getting discouraged about a rough shooting night, Murray consistently punished Miami's defense with his passing. He dished out 12 assists, a career-high for him in the postseason, and it led to a 108-95 Nuggets victory over the HEAT to build a 3-1 lead in the series... a lead they never looked back on.

Given how lethal Jokić and Murray are as scorers and passers, naturally, pairing them in the two-man game in either the pick-and-roll or via handoffs is one of Denver's best actions.

Miami had zero answers for the two-man game between Denver's stars throughout the Finals. Not one. That's something we wrote about repeatedly throughout the series, and Game 4 was no exception.

And look, it wasn't like Miami shrugged their shoulders and gave up when Denver went to its two-man game. Far from it. Head coach Erik Spoelstra is one of the best in the business, and he tried everything. Multiple pick-and-roll coverages. Zone defenses. He alternated those coverages possession-by-possession with the hopes of throwing Denver off-course. It didn't work.

Much of that was due to just how well Murray assessed what the defense was giving him and made decisions from there. Game 4 was the best example of his guilefulness as a floor-mapper.

Miami's most used coverage in Game 4 was "blitzing" pick-and-rolls by having both defenders converge onto Murray after Jokić set a screen. The goal was to take away Murray's preferred option in the halfcourt—scoring—and hopefully force him into turning the ball over. Jokić is too good of a passer and scorer to hyper-focus on one of those skills to this degree. Heading into the postseason, at least, Murray was a little more unproven as a passer.

It's fair to say he changed that narrative.

Murray did an excellent job drawing in both defenders on pick-and-roll blitzes before dishing the ball to Jokić. He did it in a variety of ways, too. He flipped gorgeous bounce passes between two defenders to Jokić rolling to the rim. When Nikola popped to the top of the three-point line, Murray found him with a gorgeous jump pass.

Murray's passing versus the blitz also gave Jokić opportunities to attack in the "short roll," the short roll being when the big man rolls halfway into the paint and receives the pass. From there, Jokić could take the midrange shot, continue driving to the rim, or pass to an open teammate.

The key to all of this was Murray getting off the ball early and trusting his teammates, particularly Jokić, to punish the defense with a 4-on-3 advantage.

"Tonight it just felt like they were blitzing every pick-and-roll, just basically trying to limit my shot attempts, and I just wasn't fighting it," said Murray after Game 4. "We've got a squad. We've got a lot of guys that can come and impact the game, a lot of guys playing with confidence, so I'm not going to fight it. Make an easy pass, and that's why I've got four other guys out there."

Murray also made the right play against more traditional coverages like drop coverage. Drop coverage is when the big man hangs back in the painted area to contain shots at the rim from both the ball-handler and roller. It was primarily on Bam Adebayo to play the cat-and-mouse game between Jokić and Murray as the drop defender.

Throughout the evening, Murray laced pocket passes to Jokić in a variety of manners. Bounce passes. Jump passes. You name it. His accuracy and timing was pristine, and it gave Denver numerous opportunities.

His best play against Miami's drop coverage occurred in the second quarter. He and Jokić intertwined for a pick-and-roll, Adebayo dropped back, and Murray finished the play with a gorgeous pass to Michael Porter Jr., who cut behind his defender. The thing to watch in this clip is Adebayo, who focused on Jokić at the top of the three-point line instead of helping at the basket. In large part, that's due to Murray manipulating the defense with his eyes to get Adebayo leaning in the wrong direction.

In the rare instances that Miami switched on pick-and-rolls by having Jokić and Murray's defenders swap assignments, Murray was quick to punish the HEAT by finding Jokić with a pass to target the mismatch. From there, Jokić utilized his brutalizing physicality to post up his smaller defender and create offense for Denver.

But Murray did more than just make the correct read against Miami's pick-and-roll defense. He also dished some truly awesome passes. Spectacular dimes, even.

First, it was the spinning drop-off pass to Porter Jr. while tip-toeing along the baseline. Later, when Jokić was off the floor with foul trouble, Murray took it upon himself to drive into the painted area against four HEAT defenders and find Jeff Green in the corner for a dagger three-pointer. In the first quarter of Game 4, he slungshot a pass to Aaron Gordon for a great look at the rim.

"He did not get bored with making the right play. He did not say, 'I'm going to save us' and try to carry the team. He just read the defense, made the right play, and trusted. That's a big part of our culture is trusting one another," said Malone after Game 4. "I thought Jamal trusting his teammates tonight was just at such a high level. I'm really proud of his performance."

Murray proved he belonged on the biggest stage. He showed he's one of the best basketball players in the world. Now, he's got a ring to show for it.

He's always been a top-tier scorer, a guy who's unafraid of the moment. His passing is starting to catch up.

If that progression continues, the Jokić and Murray two-man game will grow even more powerful. Murray becoming an uber-elite playmaker could very well be the final Infinity Stone for this potential Nuggets dynasty.

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The Leap: Jamal Murray's growth as a passer

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