Jamal Murray and Gary Harris
It feels appropriate to pair Denver’s dynamic guard tandem together in this listing. Murray and Harris scratched the surface of their potential in what was their second and third years, respectively. Murray upped his scoring average by almost eight points in his sophomore campaign, averaging just under 17 points last season. The former Kentucky Wildcat also began to live up to his college reputation as a knockdown shooter. He made 165 threes at a 37.7 percent clip last year.
Meanwhile, Harris made good on Denver’s $84 million investment in him before last season. Harris remains under the radar, but is proving to be one of the best shooters in the league. The Indiana native made a blistering 45.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-point opportunities last season. By comparison, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson posted percentages of 45.3 and 43.4, respectively.
For both players to make the leap into stardom, they will have to improve on their playmaking. Leaning on the passing ability of their pseudo point-center Nikola Jokic, neither guy averaged more than 3.4 assists per game last season. Murray also needs to make big improvements on the defensive side of the ball. With Murray on the court, the Nuggets surrendered five more points per 100 possessions compared to when he was off the court. He also posted a negative defensive box score plus/minus (-2.0) for the second year in a row.
