DEN 130, UTA 117: Murray Feasts in Up-Tempo Affair
Jake Morrison
Computer Science Student · Dallas Mavericks fan
Nuggets Cruise Past Jazz, Jamal Murray Goes Supernova While Jokić Cruises
Nuggets 130, Jazz 117. Final score doesn't do the story justice here. Denver showed up to work while Utah's rotation was basically playing short-handed, and the fantasy implications are actually pretty wild.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamal Murray | 68.0 | 57.0 | 37/5/4 | 25.6/4.4/7.1 | +11.4 |
| Nikola Jokić | 44.0 | 48.4 | 15/17/12 | 27.7/13.0/10.8 | -12.7 |
| Kyle Filipowski | 50.0 | 45.9 | 25/12/3 | 11.3/7.1/2.5 | +13.7 |
| Cameron Johnson | 50.0 | 43.8 | 19/9/6 | 11.9/3.7/2.4 | +7.1 |
| Brice Sensabaugh | 51.0 | 43.2 | 28/6/4 | 14.5/3.1/1.8 | +13.5 |
| John Konchar | 44.0 | 41.0 | 12/10/6 | 4.1/3.9/1.8 | +7.9 |
| Kennedy Chandler | 35.0 | 37.0 | 16/5/6 | 14.4/3.4/6.7 | +1.6 |
| Christian Braun | 36.0 | 31.2 | 18/6/4 | 11.8/4.8/2.8 | +6.2 |
| Bruce Brown | 35.0 | 31.1 | 11/3/1 | 7.8/3.8/2.1 | +3.2 |
| Cody Williams | 24.0 | 24.9 | 9/2/9 | 8.2/2.8/1.8 | +0.8 |
The Murray Explosion Nobody Saw Coming
Jamal Murray dropped 57 Yahoo points and honestly, this feels like it's been brewing. 37 points on 12-26 shooting with 10 threes? That's not luck, that's his pull-up game firing on all cylinders. He was +11.4 from his season average in scoring alone, and the efficiency was there too. 3-for-3 from the stripe, solid decision-making on his 4 assists.
Here's the thing though, I'm not buying this as the new normal. Nikola Jokic only took 10 shots in 33 minutes. Denver was cooking so bad that they never needed the Joker to go full Joker mode. This is a garbage-time inflated night for Murray. Don't panic-trade him or anything ridiculous, but expecting 37 points every night is fantasy death. Season average of 25.6 is his real floor and ceiling.
The Jokić Game That Wasn't Really a Game
Speaking of the Joker, yeah he put up 48.4 Yahoo FP with a triple-double (15/17/12), but look at that -12.7 on scoring vs his average. Dude was basically chilling because the game was handled by halftime. 5-10 shooting, zero threes, just doing the boring efficient thing while everyone else went nuclear around him.
This is actually fine and normal for a blowout. You're getting the playmaking and rebounding volume without the scoring burden. Still a solid night, but if you needed Murray to carry you and Jokic to not hurt you, mission accomplished. Not sustainable as a duo's performance ceiling though.
Kyle Filipowski Is Actually Real
Okay so Kyle Filipowski (45.9 Yahoo FP, 25/12/3) just went absolutely nuclear for a second-year guy getting spot minutes. That's 13.7 points above his season average as a bench big. He was 9-15 from the field, pulled down 12 boards, splashed 3 threes. This isn't a fluke line, this is skill.
Real talk: Filipowski's ownership jumped from essentially nobody to 55.7% after this game. That means your league mates are adding him, which means the window to grab him cheap might already be closed. But if he's still available, grab him. He's shown enough that Denver's gonna run him out there again, and Utah's frontcourt problems mean he could see consistent minutes.
Brice Sensabaugh and the Jazz's One Bright Spot
Brice Sensabaugh (43.2 Yahoo FP, 28/6/4) is the only Jazz player who actually looked like he wanted to compete tonight. 11-18 shooting with 6 threes is elite efficiency, and he was +13.5 on scoring vs his average. The kid can score and he proved it again.
But here's the reality check: his teammates were nowhere to be found. Kennedy Chandler put up decent numbers (37 Yahoo FP, 16/5/6) but that's basically neutral performance for him. John Konchar (41 Yahoo FP, 12/10/6) had the best rebounding night of his life at +7.9. These aren't sustainable monster games.
Look at the Jazz roster that didn't play: Keyonte George (23.6 ppg season average), Lauri Markkanen (26.7 ppg), Walker Kessler (14.4 ppg), Jaren Jackson Jr. (19.4 ppg). Utah was basically rolling out D-League lineups. Sensabaugh's nice, but don't overreact to one great game against a skeleton crew.
The Real Story: Utah Had Nobody
This game is basically worthless for fantasy analysis because the Jazz showed up completely short-handed. When you're missing that much offensive firepower, the game script doesn't matter anymore. Denver could've cruised, and they did. Sensabaugh and Filipowski both put up great individual lines, but it was against the equivalent of a summer league team.
What Actually Matters Going Forward
Cameron Johnson (43.8 Yahoo FP, 19/9/6, +7.1) had a solid night and is proving he's legitimate in Denver's playoff rotation. Christian Braun (31.2 Yahoo FP, 18/6/4) continues to be a solid contributor off the bench. These are your real role guys to target if Denver makes a playoff run, not the one-game wonders.
Ace Bailey's the name getting added this week, and yeah, 12 points in 33 minutes looks fine on the surface. But he was -1.5 on his scoring average. Pass on the hype.
The real move is staying patient on the Jazz's living players once they get healthy. Sensabaugh's got legs. But tonight was noise playing short-handed against a fully healthy Nuggets team that didn't even need to get out of second gear.