Before the season started and even now when I look at different websites top 50 players list a lot of them have Jamal Murray higher than other point guards Like Ja, Fox, and Brunson. I think the only guy worth having a conversation about is Jalen Brunson, and I still think Jalen is a better player than Murray by a good margin. I think if Jamal was asked to play a true point guard role and was asked to lead a team, it wouldn’t work. I think his play style compliments really well with Jokic, and if you switched him and Brunson’s positions it wouldn’t even be a conversation. Yes Jamal Murray elevates to unreal levels in the playoffs but puts up fringe all star numbers in the regular season, and Brunson is levels above that, he is a borderline all nba player, and without Jokic I do not think Jamal Murray could ever be that.
It's tough because Jokic elevates his team mates in a crazy way, and Murray has some legendary playoff performances, but yeah in a vacuum I'd probably take Brunson.
But the way Jokic elevates Murray isn't magic. Murray's lowkey one of the best off-ball players in the league. He's elite at cutting, relocating, and catch & shoot. I think stars should get credit for having scalable playstyles, especially if they're in that 16-25 range and can't be the #1 on a championship team.
That being said this is tough since both elevate in the playoffs, and Brunson is probably the safer option.
That's fair. Don't get me wrong, Murray is an outstanding player in his own right, and it's not a knock on him that he's playing with Jokic.
Just makes you wonder what their games/numbers might look like if they swapped situations.