Aaron Gordon gifts Jamal Murray a 'JM27' diamond pendant

Clutch Points: Aaron Gordon gifted Jamal Murray a ‘JM27’ diamond pendant before the start of the NBA Finals 💎 (via milehighjewelers/IG) pic.twitter.com/jfULZeCmP2 -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / June 4, 2023

Aaron Gordon admitted it’s hard not to let the outside chatter filter into his headspace. “It’s difficult because the people around you get excited, as well,” Gordon said. “So, you have to keep like a calmness. You have to keep a poise to you, like an intense energy but calm, while the rest of everybody else is really frenetic. It’s important to just make the main thing the main thing and just be focused on what the task is at hand.” -via Denver Post / June 3, 2023

Gordon began to get out of his seat at the podium before he decided to make one more point. “Still reading the newspaper and the news around the world is important and not being consumed with kind of the bubble that is the NBA, even though it expands during the Finals,” he said. “But still, being aware of the other things that are going on outside of the media, the NBA, and the things that are going on outside of the world and reading world news is still really important.” -via Denver Post / June 3, 2023

In his last four appearances, Butler is averaging just 19.8 points and 6.5 assists on 38.4 percent shooting. In his first 14 games of this year’s playoffs, he averaged 29.9 points and 5.6 assists on 50.5 percent. The Heat are already preparing for an uphill battle in this series against Denver’s high-powered offense, led by Jokić and Jamal Murray. The best chance they have of keeping up is Butler putting on his Superman cape and saving the day the way he has so many times in the last two months. But this isn’t just about Butler putting up big numbers. He has to get back to playing downhill consistently and putting pressure on the defense when it gives him space. -via The Athletic / June 4, 2023

Murray, whose nickname is Blue Arrow because of his basketball shooting skills, appears to be more comfortable in the spotlight than Jokic. He’s personable, expressive and active on social media. When Jokic is not Denver’s best player, Murray almost certainly is. He has promoted at least 10 brands over the past year, according to SponsorUnited, compared to just two for Jokic. It’s unusual for a top player like Jokic to be so elusive off the court. “I don’t know how much influence he really has because he doesn’t put himself out there,” said Vic Lombardi, a Denver sports talk radio host. -via New York Times / June 4, 2023