Keeler: Nuggets coach David Adelman can’t let Jamal Murray push him around

Jamal Murray demands a straight shooter A coach who ll tell him to show up in shape Who ll remind him to make the NBA not the UFC the three letters that matter majority of from October through June A coach who ll bring up the award snubs Who ll do a Google search and show the Blue Arrow just how several writers have lamented the fact that Nikola Jokic has yet to play with another All-Star in Denver A coach who ll read him aloud Jokic s stats from - that full-season triple-double Who ll then ask Maple Curry the way we ve all been asking for a week now How the heck did that guy not win an MVP award Shai Gilgeous-Alexander swam with a roster that goes deep The Joker s season sank in the kiddie pool for the second spring in a row David Adelman is slated to meet reporters at Ball Arena on Wednesday for the first time as the Nuggets full-time coach So far so good For a guy questioned to jump onto a moving train and keep it from finding a ditch in early April he did a fine job But the hard part the really hard part starts now Once the word interim is gone you can just about kiss the honeymoon period goodbye too Jokic turned in February Aaron Gordon Mr Nugget turns in September Clock s ticking The Thunder and Timberwolves ain t going anywhere Neither are LeBron and the Lukars I thought that he was able to thread the needle between challenging people with direct communication while also encouraging them almost at the same time Nuggets vice chairman Josh Kroenke explained of his new coach late last week And accountability was a key message of our last six weeks And for sure I think that was a key thing that Adelman kept at the front of his mind as he was trying to battle selected of the best coaching staffs and teams in the league was just holding guys accountable Which is why I m especially curious to see how he handles the mercurial Murray going forward Related Articles Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook undergoes surgery on right hand to repair multiple ligament tears Nuggets Journal How close was Denver to Thunder s championship level Josh Kroenke weighs in Grading The Week Michael Malone owes Nuggets fans an apology But not for his Jokic-SGA MVP take Gilgeous-Alexander Jokic Antetokounmpo Tatum Mitchell All-NBA st crew LeBron is nd company Revealing my All-NBA awards ballot Who made first company with Nikola Jokic Will Adelman let the Blue Arrow push him around Or will he lay down the law on expectations When it comes to the Joker s title window is DA ready to be a bad cop I think he did a great job considering everything Murray explained of Adelman after a season-ending loss in Oklahoma City How we had to stay together the different schemes we came up with Gordon battling through everything Jokic battling through everything The bench stepping up I just thought all in all guys were just staying with it and keeping a positive attitude and believing what we can do We played games came up short in the last one I m frustrated and everything but there s a lot to take away from the last six seven weeks or so One takeaway never changes The Nuggets will go as far in the playoffs as Murray takes them Or has the legs to pull them through In the magical spring of the Blue Arrow put up at least points times during the Nuggets -game tidal wave of a title run Denver went - in those superlative Murray tilts - against the Lakers Over the two postseasons since though No s hit that mark just times over appearances in the - and - playoffs The Nuggets wound up going - in those games - when Murray landed at points or fewer I think a lot of our answers Kroenke mentioned last week are internal right now Which was owner-speak for We re going to run this bad boy back Only better next time How much better How much longer That depends largely on Murray s shoulders And legs Murray reportedly exposed himself battling a bad hamstring in April and an illness late in the OKC series He toughed out a bad right elbow and a bum left calf during the playoffs Throw in a million max extension his estimated cap hit bumps up to million next season according to Spotrac and it adds up to Murray becoming the the majority divisive star athlete in Front Range right now After each passing June after each frustrating postseason exit the middle ground falls away Glass half-full How can you not respect the way Jamal unfailingly shows up and plays hard through pain Glass half-empty How come Jamal s invariably hurt in the playoffs Both of those things can be true at the same time Although it sure sounds as if Adelman and Kroenke are firmly united in the half-full camp When it comes to Nuggets coaches and general managers the Kroenkes prefer to keep things in-house But what if the devil you know can t chase old demons away Bringing in a coach from the outside while I was very open-minded to it initially I saw the cohesiveness of the relationships on the human side Kroenke explained And I think that s a big factor in where we re heading with this group now and getting the the greater part out of them The spirit is willing yet Playoff Jamal feels more and more like a ghost of parades past If a coach has to scare that out of him will Adelman have the power Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis