Denver Nuggets Practice Media | 11/26/25 🎙

Denver Nuggets Practice Media | 11/26/25 🎙

I mean, I got no better people to learn from than Yok and Jamal. I mean, they go out there consistently and produce and put up numbers every night and uh they look at it as another day in the office. Obviously, for me, it’s exciting times for me and my family um just because this is a new experience for us, but I’m trying to approach it kind of the same as they they are because at any time, you know, uh things could go the other way. So, I’m just trying to take it with humility. What what kind of conversations with the family have there been like where it’s a are they are they like just super excited for you for this moment or are they hard on you in this moment where they’re like hey uh you missed the length here you missed the three here things like that. I think a little bit of both. I think that the um the right word is just constructive criticism. I think that even in games when I play great there’s always things that I can do better. Um and that’s what just the dialogue that we’ve had. But they’re super proud of me, super happy, super positive. Um, and they’ve been that way the whole way through. Good game, bad game. So, it’s great to be able to celebrate the good moments, too. I know people focus on the points a lot, but you had games, double digit rebounds, handful of assists. How pleased are you with your entire court? Uh, I’m s I’m super pleased with it. Um, obviously I think we’ve lost some more games than I would have liked to um with me in the lineup, but uh at the end of the day, I just I just always think about where I came from. You know what I’m saying? And it was a grind to get into the lineup and it was a grind to, you know, make my name in this NBA. But, uh, it’s just been a journey and I’m just happy and grateful for it all. When you when they leave you open early for threes, you have to prove, “Hey, man, I can make these.” Don’t do that. Yeah. No, I love it. I I I wish they would keep doing it. Wide open shots, I’ll take them. My teammates, they they pass me the ball. All my looks were catch and shoot. So, that means that everybody was finding me for those looks and they want me to take those shots. Um, so I’m just taking them with confidence and uh I feel like they’re going in at a great rate. How much are you learning to navigate the paint when Joker has the ball in his hands? I’m learning more. I’m learning better and better. I think that the main thing to always keep in mind is that this ball always keep coming. Like with Y, he got eyes in the back of his head. So I always got to be ready even when it seems impossible for him to get the ball there. Um you just always got to have your hands and your eyes ready and he’ll find you. I got to imagine Jokic has 2020 vision up front. What’s the vision for the eyes in the back of his head? Cuz it’s got to be got to be the same. Got to be about the same. You know what I’m saying? He’s seeing the floor as good as anybody ever has. Um, and it’s you really can’t understate what he’s doing out there and you got to appreciate him because we get to watch him every night and it’s not going to always be like that. So, um, you really got to just never take for granted what he brings to the table. What was going through your head when he passed? I was like, I got to finish this. I got to finish this because I’m going to be on Joker’s uh career highlight reel. So, I definitely got to finish this one. That’s all. What’s it like to play against Victor Wiel and his unique skill set? It’s good. It’s good. I love to compete against the best players. Um whether it’s a five, whether it’s a four, 3 2 1, like anybody out there on the court, if they’re a problem and they need me to come in and kind of uh slow them down, I love guarding them. But um it’s always a challenge for him just because of like the physical stature he has and how tall he is. Um but I love I love playing against everybody. you know, when you were I know you were already really good in the corners last year, but is there anything that you’ve done to like keep refining the shot just as far as form all that or just repetition? No, just uh I think form, repetition, and then just hunting those looks, you know, they’re high percentage looks for me. So, anytime I can make some space for myself in that corner or just kind of get in Joker or Jamal’s periphery so they can see me and find me in those spots, it’s been great for me. But um it’s just something that I’ve ripped out and something that I know I have to be elite with especially with this team and the way we space the floor kind of with Joker playing with his back to the ball. I mean back to the basket. Um it just makes my drive easier if I’m hitting those shots and it makes their drive easier as well. What do you do for Thanksgiving? My parents and my little sister are out here so I’m definitely going What’s your go-to food? What is it? I love uh yams and mac and cheese. That’s my favorite two sides. to make a team. Watching these NBA Cup games sometimes can be distracting with these colorful courts. As a player, does that have any impact on you or is it not doesn’t even matter? I feel like I don’t we don’t even notice once we start playing online. It’s just literally a basketball court. As long as it’s a ball and it’s a rim, we’ll be all right. Do you guys still feel I know year one everybody kind of felt a little more intensity for NBA Cup games. Has that faded or do you guys still kind of care about this in season tournament? I feel like the care has gone up more. I feel like at first we because we didn’t really know what it was and know what the rules were and things like that. Um I feel like we kind of just didn’t take it as seriously. But I think everybody on the team is aware what those games mean. And uh at the end of the day, I don’t feel like we should go out there and take any game more seriously than the next. I feel like every game as serious as a heart attack to me. So it it’s rare to get three days off during the middle of the year now that you you’re going through this for the fourth season. Just how valuable are these stretches like throughout the year just to kind of reset the brain, reset the mind, reset the body? It’s super it’s super valuable. Like you said, I think the most important thing is being able to reset our minds. like the games and like what we’re being what’s being asked of us on a night toight basis is definitely things that could be stressful, you know, and you could be in your head about it, but just to have the break kind of mentally to be able to reset and um just find that even kill positive mindset is always great. Um but honestly, I think the more we play, the better I kind of feel. Like I feel like when we have these days off, sometimes my body just I just sit around all day and my body gets a little stiff. So, um, I I I like it, but to a certain extent, I also like playing. Sorry if you addressed this already, but a week or two ago, Clutch announced you new client. I guess just what what appealed to you about that opportunity? Um, I think that, you know, there’s a big opportunity at hand uh just this year for me in general on the court. And that’s something that I’ve been taking the most seriously because at the end of the day, that’s just going to make my agent’s job, whoever my agent is, easier if I’m doing my job out there on the court. But Clutch is I was actually with them for NIL in college to begin with. And Rich was my agent in college and I just uh decided to go with Excel from to start my NBA career. And Excel did nothing but great things for me. Um, super supportive. It was more so a business decision on our side and it’s something that we’re happy with because of the support that puts shows and just the love, the attention to detail. Um it’s really next level. So we’re excited to be able to start that path of our journey. But um nothing but love to um my previous one. We got Do you remember your first like weak side help block? Like there was there a moment where you realized that you were really good at that growing up? Low key like in high school is when I started to figure it out like it’s when I started jumping out of the gym and realizing that my recovery time was really really good. So I think that high school must have been just sort of in general around that age as opposed to like there was like a moment in a game where it was like that came naturally. No, there was no specific play. Once I figured out I could do it, I started doing it all the time. Yes, sir. Thank you. You guys very rarely get three days off in in a row during the season just after you’ve done this for as long as you have. Like does it take you out of rhythm? Does it like give you rest? Like what’s the what’s the benefit in that? Nothing really. I mean you’re still in the gym working out every day. So I mean to me it’s no difference. Good rest to me. Yes. Jamal, we spent so much time talking about Joker’s passes. You had a pass in that game the other night. You’re under the hoop and you s you saw someone on the baseline corner three. How did you see him there? How did you make that pass happen? He was uh open. I don’t know. I just saw him on the drive and and he was open. I was able to get him. You think you’re an underrated passer? I know what I am. I’m I do what I do. That’s for you guys to decide. You’ve got I think it’s like 17 assist two turnovers in the last couple games. Is there anything when when you’re making some of those types of passes, those are more difficult passes. You tend to think that those can be more turnover prone. Is there anything you can put your finger on just as far as what’s clicking from a crispness going on on the player? Uh, no. I think just all five are in tune with what we’re doing offensively. And um, you know, when there’s more communication out there, it’s it’s better for everybody. So everybody kind of knows the role. We’re getting used to the timing more as the season goes on. So just just those little things are starting to happen more. What are the most important things you guys can do collectively as a group on defense for the stretch you guys are without Christian and EG? Same thing. I just said just just talking and being more communicative of, you know, who’s in spot on defense and stuff like that. Um that solves a lot of problems. you know, you’re not going to always know what the other team’s going to do or be as long as everybody has each other’s backs and is in the right spot and doing it with aggression. Jamal, how much importance in year three do you guys place on these NBA Cup games, the the inseason tournament? I mean, there’s emphasis obviously, you know, it’s it’s a great bonus and you guys want to go to Vegas and have some fun. So, um I think I think it’s a good little uh motivation to go out there and play hard and it’s always the atmosphere is always great. So, they make our job easy. Is there any extra talk heading into Friday’s Final Cup game about, hey, we’re on the bubble. If we get a win, we can solidify. Try to win every game. You can’t pay too much attention to it. Just just go out there and play play how you normally play play hard. And um yeah, you know, don’t put too much pressure on it. At the end of the day, it’s still one game if you don’t go. Um, we’re just trying to make each game count. The point differential could matter though. It’s not out of the question. Yeah, but like I said, we’re just we’re just trying to get the win. The win is most important. We get the win, then there’s nothing else to worry about. So, um, stay focused on that. A lot of games. Coach Adam’s talked in the past about how guys incorporating some new defensive coverages, new defensive schemes. Like, how long do you think that’s kind of taken to fully like get everybody adjusted into it? And do you guys think you’re you’re there or there’s some things you’re still There’s a lot of things we can work out, a lot of things we can figure out and we’re only just we’re getting better though, you know, from the preseason until now. Like there’s been a lot of uh bunch of positives and stuff. So, um it’s only going to grow as long as we keep the same title. Uh same cohesiveness on defense, you know what I’m saying? So, we’re only going to get better. Peyton’s a guy who’s really taking advantage of his opportunity here recently. Do you see him building towards this? Yeah, of course. you know, he’s he’s always been such a willing learner and goes there and does it with such passion. So, uh to see him improve is is is what I expected and um it’s only like it’s only going to grow. Um I as he gets more comfortable taking that many shots and and and seeing the ball go through the hoop and it’s just going to unlock his game. So, as you’ve seen um not just one game, but game to game, the course of the season has gone on. There’s a huge recruitment from last year. Um not just in terms of stats, but in terms of overall confidence. you all three. Um it’s so rare like in today’s NBA to find three off days in a row. Um when you find this opportunity, do you use it as a mental reset? Is it a physical reset for the team? Is it all the above? Like what where do you where do you kind of check the boxes the most during these times? Yeah, I think it’s both. I also think it’s rare to go south and play two games, come back to Denver, and then go south again. So I uh rarities are happening at a rapid rate around here. So uh no it was good. We mental reset uh got to talk about San Antonio a little bit which is an advantage for us and then you know just put the guys back in a good place after a good win in Memphis. So uh yeah it was a good day. Have you discussed I mean let’s say San Antonio wins tonight and you got a scoring differential. You got a bye-bye. Have you guys talked about that? No. Uh we’ve talked about winning the game. Uh obviously if if that situation comes up and the math is done correctly, uh we’ll do the best we can to try to be in that tournament. Uh but you got to you got to think about winning that game first and go from there. How much talk is there about the NBA Cup and standings and all of that or is it just it’s one of 82? No, I think I mean standings we always talk about. I think the NBA Cup thing is you know you’re you’re in it. We’re in it. So we do talk about it. Uh in the past we were out of it so fast it never really was a thing. Uh so we have a chance. A lot of things have to go our way, but I’d love to get into it, man. It’d be a great way to test ourselves early in the season, see where we’re at. Uh put ourselves in a tournament. Um obviously want to be in the big tournament at the end of the year more so. Uh but I think it’s Yeah. If you’re in the mix, like it’s important. Do Do you notice a different intensity on those Tuesdays or Fridays for Cup games? I do. Yeah. Yeah, I think the energy it really is a fan thing. The fans like it. Uh so they bring a lot of juice to the game. Uh our night in Houston was felt like a playoff game just with the the fan energy and both teams intensity. Uh so yeah, there’s a little extra there. Uh but again, it does count the same, you know, towards the ultimate goal. But I do think uh no, it’s been a cool thing. It’s gotten better every year and I’d love to be a part of it. talk a little about uh being content with how guys have kind of handled some of the complexities of the concepts within defensively and kind of moving on and stuff. How how do you feel like that process has gone from bench to to court just as far as staff players communicating everything in game you guys want to change something into something else? Yeah, it’s I think it’s slowly gotten better. uh today was good for us because I thought our zone in Memphis was really impactful and then it wasn’t and they attacked it differently so it allowed us to clean that up. Um and that’s what we’re going to see. We’re going to see different stuff against our man defense principles and and the zone. It’s a well coached league so you have to slowly maintenance yourself through the season. And to your your point, the first question, three days off, it does allow you to do some things with energy on the court as opposed to just walking through everything, which you usually do uh with the schedule we have. But yeah, it’s a it’s been a good process. Guys have been locked in. Uh that’s the whole point of this is just try to get better every day. What are kind of keys for success for you guys defensively for as long as you’re going to be without CB and AG? Survive, man. And defensive rebound. You know, we have a lot of small lineups out there. uh was super proud of Zeke. Six defensive rebounds. Uh but not easy ones, tough ones in traffic. Uh so that’s got to be who we are is I know we’re going to scramble around uh compete defensively, but can you finish the possession? You know, Houston’s an outlier cuz they’re so good offensive rebounding, but all these teams crash. So if we can finish possessions, we’ll be in a good spot. How pleased are you with Payton’s overall game? He’s doing more than just scoring his rebounding passing. Yeah, and I think more importantly just Payton’s special gift is the way he guards and he’s got to guard. He’s going to have really have tough responsibilities, uh, matchups every night, guys that are paid a lot of money because they’re really good. Uh, so that’s going to be his job. And if you, you know, if he can score and pass and and make plays offensively, you know, it’s kind of just the cherry on top. So I I just expect him to bring great energy defensively and rebound the ball. Do you guys even practice tomorrow? What do you do? No. uh tomorrow. The guys deserve it. Uh you take advantage of the schedule. Uh see your friends, see your families, uh celebrate this however you want to celebrate it. I think it’s uh it’s important for us. We’ll get back to it Friday morning. Jamal’s averaging a variety of career highs right now, but one is in the three-point attempts per game. Like are you finding those like coming naturally for him or or is it more of a kind of we want this to happen and we’re trying to scheme tonight? Yeah, I mean, I think we’ve done a good job uh putting him in, you know, double drag situations, uh, you know, pin down dribble, handoff situations, and he’s taking shots that are available. And I think when, uh, Jamal or any player thinks too much, uh, that’s a problem, and I need him to not fake and shoot the ball when he’s open. Uh, so the shots he’s taken are good shots. And more importantly, the guy’s got 27 assists the last three games as opposed to almost, I believe it’s three turnovers. Uh so what he’s doing right now is a extra level. It’s why we’re 13 and four. Uh we have the best player in the world in my opinion and we have a point guard that’s playing at an extreme, you know, extreme level for him and the start that he’s had mentally, physically really fun to watch. Coach, I asked him about his passing. He had a pass under the baseline that he got to the corner that was amazing. Do you think his passing is overlooked because he plays with the best passer in the game? Yeah, I would say so. And I think for Jamal, it’s just what he’s doing right now, collecting the, you know, taking the extra threes and taking the shots that are available. Um, I just see somebody that’s seeing the game and just playing the game. Somebody’s open, throw them the ball. Uh, I’m open, shoot the ball. That sounds really simple, but not in the NBA when you’re playing against the best athletes in the world. Uh, different coverages every night. He just has such a clean way about him right now. He’s playing the game. Will you take tomorrow off? What’s your go-to at the Thanksgiving dinner table dinner table dinner table dinner table dinner table dinner table dinner table dinner table dinner table dinner table dinner? No, I mean I’ll I’ll watch tape when San Antonio plays tonight. Um I’m going to play Call of Duty 7 with my son, play some zombies. That’s outrageously fun this year. Uh I I’m more of a sides guy. Uh we always get a different protein every year. I’m not a turkey every year, but uh yeah, I’m excited. I’m excited to throw in some cod with my son over there. He’s he’s a lot better than I am at it, but it’s fun to follow him around. Yeah. Go ahead. Oh, I’m done. Oh, I was more of a Battlefield 6 family ourselves. Yeah, I like Battlefield. I feel like Battlefield Yeah, it’s good. It’s fun. And in Call of Duty, he’s the same every year, but it’s, you know, it’s hard not to play with your kids. Happy Thanksgiving. Appreciate it.

Hear what Peyton Watson, Jamal Murray, and Coach Adelman had to say ahead of the game against the San Antonio Spurs.

0:00 Peyton Watson
7:54 Jamal Murray
11:59 Coach Adelman

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Denver Nuggets Practice Media | 11/26/25 🎙