Pretty nuts that the media and even Suns fans didn’t give the Suns any slack for missing an All Star.
In every single game this year the Suns were missing at least 1 All Star. In 6 games they were missing 2 All Stars.
And by all rights Denver should be better equipped to play without Murray. The Nuggets are not as top heavy in salary. Their top 5 salaries are $47, $33, $33, $22 and $15 million. While the Suns are very top heavy with their 3 Stars averaging $42 million. Thus it hurts way more when the Suns are missing a Star. Denver has more depth.
And lets be real. Book is way better than Murray.
Still Denver is struggling without Murray.
Murray has never been an all star. He has exactly one move. Take away his fadeaway and he’s got nothing. He’s not very efficient. He’s not a great facilitator, he’s not really a good defender. There are plenty of guys as good as or better than he is. He doesn’t ger much defensive attention because teams gameplan around Jokic, so he can put up some points. No team is gameplanning to stop Jamal Murray.