NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 6, 2023

Jamal Murray

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. Jamal, first game you saw a few different kinds of coverages, but you saw a lot more of Jimmy in Game 2. I'm wondering what your mentality is when you see that you have that more length on you, him as an individual defender, what kind of challenges he poses for you?

JAMAL MURRAY: Mentality is the same. I've seen a lot of defenders throughout my career. Jimmy is a good defender. Got great hands, anticipation. Obviously, he is a little taller than me. I'm not going to tell you how to beat it, but I've got my ways (smiling).

Just got to keep him guessing and keep him working. Just because he is on me doesn't mean I can't be a part of the play or not put pressure on the defense. I thought I had some really good looks throughout the game; just missed them. That's all I've got.

Q. You guys have talked all season about communicating with one another, not just on the floor but between games, and being really open and taking responsibility and accountability. Coach Malone talked about everybody talking at the team meeting today and going to a team dinner. How much does that help in a situation like this where you're 1-1?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, it helps a lot. Jeff took us to a team dinner last night at his house, all the way out in Narnia. But it was a good vibe just to have everybody there, forgetting about the last game, knowing that we're here as a team, as a family, trying to accomplish something. It means a lot.

A lot of it is mentality for me. I just like to keep the right mindset. So when everybody is in a good spirit, and even coming off a loss, I think that's huge. So shout-out to Jeff for getting that team activity together.

And everybody in film, I think Coach did a good job of making everybody speak up and give their own thoughts, and if we disagree, we can talk it out. I think it was a positive -- it's been a positive since the loss.

Q. You guys have had sizable leads going into the fourth quarter of both Games 1 and 2. When you look at the film or you just being on the floor doing your own sort of dissection, does tightness play a role into any of the indecision? Or the Miami zone? Can you pinpoint one thing or another that has led to controlling the game in the first three quarters and Miami storming back?

JAMAL MURRAY: Tightness like what?

Q. Playing tight, being a little indecisive. Not like a nervousness, not a choking thing, but just a little indecision tightness?

JAMAL MURRAY: No. Well, if you watch the first quarter, first three minutes of the first quarter last game, it was all our mistakes. If they go small-small, we didn't switch it and led to an open three.

I think it happened twice. They got two threes, and then I think Gabe hit a pull-up between me and KCP and we didn't switch. Those are all our mistakes. Those are all our doings.

As bad as we played in the first quarter, we're down three at the end of it. As bad as we played to start the third, we were up by a little bit. It's just putting together 48 minutes. It has nothing to do with tightness.

We're not playing well and we were still in control of the game, it felt like. We've just got to be able to put together 48 minutes and trust each other down the stretch.

Q. Piggy-backing off of an earlier question, what did you think specifically of your individual balance that you played with in Game 2? Do you feel that you were aggressive enough offensively against Jimmy? If you were, what are some of the things that you can do in Game 3? If you weren't, what are some things you can do in Game 3?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, making shots is one. I thought my aggressiveness -- aggressiveness is not just shooting the ball. If I'm getting downhill and making the pass to another guy that is open, that is me being aggressive.

Some games call for different types of plays. I remember the Lakers series was up and down. Guys were running around, guys were flying off stops. Phoenix, both teams were running and gunning.

This series is more of an execution defensive game. We've got to stay spaced and stay organized and be more deliberate in our offense and in our defense, what we're trying to take away.

It's a team sport. It's not really about me. But I was aggressive in making my drives and making my reads off rebounds, pushing the ball in transition. So just picking my spots and not forcing. I thought I had some good looks that didn't go down.

But like I said, we could have played a lot better. We could have played a lot better and got the job done. We just had some lapses that we had to come back from, and that didn't help us.

Q. You were just talking about mentality. From a shooter mentality standpoint, is there anything you see or say to Michael about the shots he's getting, because it looks like a lot of them are good looks?

JAMAL MURRAY: Keep shooting. I'm going to keep running plays for him, especially during the the game so he can see one go in. We want him to keep shooting and play aggressive. Not just shoot the ball, but be aggressive. If it's not there, go to the rim. If the pass is open, pass it.

I think he'll be fine. Mike is a next-shot mentality kind of guy. I think he'll be fine. I'll find a way to get him going in Game 3.

Q. Bam Adebayo just told us the best advice he received for the Finals was from D-Wade in 2020. Can you tell us the best advice you've received for these Finals and who gave it to you?

JAMAL MURRAY: Probably just talking to my family, just realizing where we came from and how much work it took to get here. Just realizing the opportunity.

I'd probably say my family, my dad, all my friends back home, everybody supporting from my hometown especially, a small place called Kitchener. Just to take advantage of the opportunity -- that this is something personally I've been dreaming about as a kid. I will say that was the one that has resonated the most, and realizing the opportunity.

Q. With you and Nikola, Coach Malone, the guys on the team who have been here for a minute, you've had time to grow together. Do you have points of reference for a moment like this? This is obviously a huge stage, a 1-1 series. What do you turn to in terms of your experiences playing, coaching, working together for a moment like this one?

JAMAL MURRAY: We've always been a resilient team. We've always had that. We've always had that chemistry. That's one of our biggest advantages is our chemistry and how long we've been playing together, the continuity that we have, the reads that we make on the fly, no matter what the defense is doing. I would say just as long as we stay together and have that bounce-back mentality, we'll be fine.

We've been in positions like this before. This is the first loss in seven games, I think. So we're not doing a bad job. We've just got to refocus, sharpen our mentality and like I said, be more deliberate on both ends of the floor, and we'll be fine.