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Should Nuggets Start Russell Westbrook With Jamal Murray?

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Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) gestures in front of guard Russell Westbrook (4)

The Denver Nuggets are just 3-3 to start the season. After finishing with over 50 wins in 2022-23 and 2023-24, it’s fair to say that they’re underwhelming, looking more like a middling team with a generational talent than a generational team in the middle of its championship window.

Denver isn’t the only team playing underneath the standard that they set for themselves last season. The Minnesota Timberwolves have started 2024-25 with a 3-3 record after winning 56 games in 2023-24. The Los Angeles Clippers are 2-4 after winning 51 games in 2023-24. In the East, the Philadelphia 76ers are 1-4 and the Milwaukee Bucks are 1-5 after winning at least 50 games in two of the previous three seasons. The Indiana Pacers are just 2-4 after winning 47 games in 2023-24.

Should Nuggets Start Russell Westbrook With Jamal Murray?

Like the Clippers and Timberwolves, the Nuggets are trying to adjust to a major change in their starting lineup.

Willing to let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk because they believed Christian Braun would be an apt replacement, they have spacing concerns in the starting lineup. Braun has stepped up as of late and is now shooting a career-high 42.1 percent from deep this season. However, all of his three-point attempts have been open (no defender within 4-6 feet) or wide open (no defender within 6 feet). Ultimately, teams are willing to let him shoot.

Their bench has also been criticized, as they rank 26th in points per game (25.2), 30th in field goal percentage (.342), and 30th in three-point percentage (.235). This is largely due to Russell Westbrook —a nine-time All-Star —shooting 23.2 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from three. While Nuggets head coach Michael Malone attempts to solve the problem, the answer may be right in front of his face.

Westbrook is hard to guard when coming off of Nikola Jokic’s screens and his rack attacks force defenses to collapse the paint, opening up shots from others.

If with the starters, Westbrook has at least three outlets —Jokic, Murray, Michael Porter Jr. —outside the arc. Notably, Aaron Gordon is shooting 55.0 percent from three this season. When Westbrook is with the bench, Julian Strawther is a more than respectable three-point threat. However, there aren’t nearly as many players defenses will jump out to guard. This is especially true when he’s the focal point of the offense and teams are focused on bottling him up, making it more difficult for him to get off clean looks.

All of which leads to the possibility that Westbrook should actually start over Braun.

There are other reasons to make this change. Westbrook isn’t typically regarded as an elite on-ball defender, but he’s better than Murray in that regard. Additionally, Murray could benefit from having another ball-handler to relieve pressure off of him. Though there’s no guarantee it’ll work, now —early in the season —is the time to see if it will.

Young, Wild & Free

Hypothetically speaking, say that Denver opts to start Westbrook, Murray, Porter, Gordon, and Jokic. Their bench would then be led by Braun, Strawther, and Peyton Watson. Braun and Watson are young swingmen who can change the game with their hustle and defense. Strawther is a player the Nuggets see as a combo guard, and can drive the bench scoring.

With a more balanced shot profile than Westbrook, Strawther could actually make the bench more difficult to defend. Not only would he force the defense’s pickup points to be higher, the Gonzaga product adds a layer of complexity to their attack. With Westbrook as the bench’s first option, they could just bottleneck him, funneling him into a forest of limbs. A Strawther-led bench would be much more unpredictable.

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