Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets is in the middle of a historically impressive postseason run, but NBA legend Paul Pierce might have gone too far with his comments after Game 4 of the Finals. Pierce proclaimed Murray the best point guard in the NBA following the Nuggets’ victory over the Miami Heat to grab a 3-1 series advantage:
Obviously, this tweet implies that Murray is superior to Steph Curry, the star of the Golden State Warriors, which would be a typical example of recency bias. Murray should be commended for his efforts, but declaring him the league’s top point guard over Curry would be going too far.
Curry concluded this postseason run averaging 30.5 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 5.2 RPG. This included a historic Game 7 performance against the Sacramento Kings where he went for 50 in the closing minutes. However, his team was defeated in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Murray is averaging 26.7 PPG, 7.1 APG, and 5.5 RPG while also experiencing a historically incredible run, as was already mentioned. This productivity from Murray is something Curry has matched and excelled numerous times in the postseason, including just last season when he won his first Finals MVP title. Comparing numbers alone is not the best method to assess the level two players are at.
Although Pierce gave Murray more credit than Curry despite Murray’s tremendous postseason play, this is an example of recency bias.
Leave a Reply