this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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Much worse, unless you hypothesize that Trae become a player we've only seen in short spurts in his entire career: a guy who is locked in on defense and plays hard after he passes the ball.
Trae is really really good with the ball in his hands. He, for his career, has been largely mediocre when it's not in his hands, on both sides of the floor.
With Jokic you don't really want the ball in Trae's hands.
Do yall even watch the Nuggets last season? There were many times where Jokic sat or even with him on court that, he would let Jamal run the offense.
You're overthinking it. Think about what Murray does and if Trae can do it.
Run PNR? Trae can do it better.
Run the offense while Jokic sits? Trae can do it better.
Close out games? Murray has done it in higher stakes, but Trae isn't scared of the moment either.
Trae is a more consistent scorer and undebatably better passer. Defense is the only downgrade, which people constantly mis-attribute in these debates. He takes a lot of bad shots, which Jokic would be able to help. He's not a cutter, but he can score from anywhere and is a great catch-and-shooter.
You are just dismissing the cutting aspect, but Murray and Jokic have probably the best cutter-passer connection of anyone in the league. Jamal eats off of cuts and opens up a lot of the offense with those actions. Taking that away hamstrings the top end upside of what the Nuggets do.
Nuggets are better with Murray cutting, but they are also fine without it. There are other players that cut. IMO Young would make up for that with everything else. Numbers point to Murray being a better shooter, but it doesn't take account for the degree of difficulty and focus Murray faces vs Trae. Playing with Jokic, means you will get open shots and easy looks.