After a strong performance against the Pistons, injured Nuggets guard Jamal Murray kicked off Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s All-Defensive Team campaign. Despite without Jamal Murray for many weeks due to a hamstring injury, the Denver Nuggets have found ways to win, owing in large part to the MVP-caliber heroics of Nikola Jokic. But, with Jokic ejected in the first half of the Nuggets’ game against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, Denver needed huge efforts from its role players, which it got, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope putting in an inspired two-way effort en route to a 107-103 win. Caldwell-Pope finished with 20 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block, emerging as one of the Nuggets’ more consistent scorers following Jokic’s dismissal. Furthermore, he was as effective as ever in protecting the point of attack, guarding Cade Cunningham late in the game.
It’s no surprise that Jamal Murray noticed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s tremendous two-way effort, with the injured Nuggets guard even initiating Caldwell-Pope’s campaign for defensive praise.
Murray commented on his official Twitter (X) account, “KCP Is First Team All Defense.” Because there are so many outstanding perimeter defenders in the NBA, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has slipped under the radar in recent years. But now that he’s playing for the reigning champion Nuggets, Caldwell-Pope’s full impact on winning is coming to light, as many realize just how outstanding of a defender he truly is.
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