NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 11, 2023

Jamal Murray

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. Danilo Gallinari was saying the other day about how after you suffered your injury, he reached out to you and offered words of advice because that was similar. What do you remember from that, and who are some of the other people, maybe other NBA players, what-have-you, that really provided support for you during your rehab?

JAMAL MURRAY: For me, appreciate Gallo. For me, the first person that reached out was Klay, in the X-ray room. That meant a lot to me. That helped me a lot. Understand that from the get-go, it's going to be a long journey. Just seeing his face in that moment, and you could tell he was still recovering from his injury and he was still hurt mentally. It just helped me a lot get through, knowing I'm going to be in a dark time. It's not going to be a cakewalk.

Basically, a lot of guys did. It's hard for me to single out a few. But Gallo was one, all my old teammates.

Q. And then have you looked back on where you are now?

JAMAL MURRAY: I'm just happy to be in this position, knowing that everything I did to rehab was solid.

Q. I know over the years you've spoken about the influence of martial arts and Bruce Lee. To have that quote in your locker the other night -- "Knowing is not enough, we must apply; willing is not enough, we must do" -- how does that help you? The visualization and martial arts you practice, what impact has that had on and you what impact does it make on you?

JAMAL MURRAY: I think it's the realization, I think is one of the biggest things. Everybody talks about, don't want to miss an opportunity, or when you miss an opportunity, you're like, damn, that was a good opportunity for me to have.

I just think, thinking about all the things I've done growing up, all the things I wanted to do growing up, being here is one of them. So I don't want to miss the opportunity. So like I said, knowing is not enough. It's good to know it and realize it, but you have to go out there and motivate yourself to do it.

For me, just keeping that mindset. All martial arts, not just basketball, all martial arts stuff helped me with life and navigate that way.

Q. After Game 4, you said that this team is ready to win a championship and has the tools to do so. What have been the things both big and small along the way that have led you to believe that regardless of what happens tomorrow night?

JAMAL MURRAY: It's long before we made it here that I thought this was going to happen. I had a belief of being in the playoffs before, having the experience, seeing the team and the chemistry grow, having the same core my whole career, that's when I saw it. That's when I believed it.

To be here just kind of rounds it out and shows that when we are given the right circumstances and everybody healthy, God willing, we can do it. I think when we're playing our best basketball, we are a very hard team to stop. I just see us playing like that for the majority of the time. Sticking together, even when we go through rough stretches, we're still in a good place.

I've personally had that belief for a very long time. No new confidence for me.

Q. The three-point line has obviously been a pretty big bellwether in this series. When they have been able to get that going in Game 2, that went their way; otherwise, you guys have done a really good job of limiting attempts. What goes into the challenge of limiting attempts for them, and how do you feel you guys have done about that since Game 2?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, their shooters are moving on every drive. Duncan is flying off both ways off Bam. Strus is not shooting well, but he's getting some good looks. So we can't keep giving these shooters good looks.

We know they are going to make shots, but as long as we keep our discipline and don't give them the open stuff, I think we are in a good spot. We gave them a couple easy layups, easy dunks last game. We take those away, we take away a lot of life they have and kind of just shut down their offense.

We're staying home with shooters and allowing AG to play one-on-one with Jimmy a lot. The same thing with Jok. It feels like we are planning to take away the three and they are still get something good looks.

So I think we are just keeping our awareness up on drives and those (hesitation) situations, offensive rebounds, finding the shooters, getting back in transition. Just taking the easy ones away and knowing that if they are going to hit shots, it's going to be over a contested hand.

Q. Obviously Nikola is a two-time MVP, is the runner-up for the award this season. But have you seen him play better ever than he is right now?

JAMAL MURRAY: No. Maybe one day in practice (laughter), but no.

He's very smart with his tactics. The way they front him or deny him. We don't really fight the pressure we both get. Just seeing him make quick decisions, if the pass is open, there's no hesitation. Even if he turns it over sometimes, he takes what the defense is giving him.

But some of the passes he makes and how quick he'll make them, I think that's what impresses me the most. There's no hesitation with that. Some guys don't hesitate with their jump shot. They go right into a shot no matter what. He does the same thing with his passing. It's hard to guard. Definitely with AG in the dunker (spot), it's hard to guard him and have that guy step up and be in a tough spot.

Jokic is holding the ball for half a second longer and figuring it ou. He's been doing that for so long at all levels. He won his first MVP and his numbers were better than the second MVP, and his numbers are better during now.

So, yeah, I think there's more to come, actually, from Jok. I think we haven't seen a side of Jok that we are going to see where he can be just pure dominance all the way, the whole game, even more than he has been.

Q. There's a quality about this team right now in the series that if there's a problem, you fix it and you never go back and make that mistake again. Is that something that we are seeing in the series more often than usual? Is that something that's part of DNA of the team?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, it's like when you're trying to teach something and they keep making the same mistake over and over. How many times have we gone back and seen us not get back in transition? How many times not boxing out, ball watching, all that stuff?

I think once we just be aware that we're doing that in that moment in the game, we have a quicker -- even if it's half a second, we are realizing a second quicker, and we are all making the right effort to make up for that mistake.

A lot of it is even if we do make a mistake, there's somebody behind covering for you. So all of us being on a string and all of us understanding what we are trying to accomplish. Obviously they are manipulating stuff, getting a few here and there. But as long as we're on the same page, we'll be good for 48.

Q. When you see all the journey that you have gone through with the team, what's the message for the people waiting for this important moment? The fans and people that work inside the team, what's your message for them before the most important night of this franchise?

JAMAL MURRAY: I don't know. I'd just say patience is key. Nothing happens overnight. I think we have done a great job, not just as a team but as an organization, sticking together, keeping each other up, motivating each other.

We have got Stan and Josh in the locker rooms, win or loss, which means a lot. Just seeing everybody's faces. I still get messages from Tim. I get messages from Monte. Everybody is part of the journey and understands what we are about. It's just nice to see us be a big family and understand what it takes to win. But yeah, it's been a journey, a lot of fun. We have got more work to do.