Late in the first half of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series between Portland and Denver, Jamal Murray swiped a Blazers inbounds pass and tore ass the other way, in a two-on-two break with teammate Malik Beasley streaking ahead of him. With two skilled and athletic guards pushing ahead, and just the relatively diminutive Damian Lillard and the oafish Enes Kanter back on defense, this should’ve been a hugely advantageous setup for the Nuggets. Until!
In Beasley’s defense, shifting from a dead sprint to a kind of angled back-pedal while tracking two defenders and a streaking teammate is the kind of thing that would explode my legs into a cloud of gory bone shrapnel. Spare a chuckle also for Murray, who in addition to chucking the ball out of bounds seemed determined to follow exactly in Beasley’s footsteps, which pressured Beasley to run the hell out of the paint before his teammate dribbled into his back. Just a really delightfully screwy and stupid transition opportunity, guys.