The Denver Nuggets were cementing their status as a genuine contender in the Western Conference. Now their season has been dealt a huge blow with the news that Jamal Murray's knee injury is worse than first feared
Wednesday 14 April 2021 08:06, UK
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee and is out indefinitely, the team announced Tuesday morning.
Murray, 24, sustained the injury with 50.6 seconds remaining in Denver's 116-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday. His knee buckled as he drove toward the basket and fell to the court, immediately clutching at his left knee and then pounding the court in pain.
Murray was escorted straight to the locker room after the fall, which came at the conclusion of a 17-point night.
The Denver Post reported his recovery is expected to range from between nine to 12 months. His surgery has yet to be scheduled, per the newspaper.
"He just came back," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said following Monday's loss. "He was gone for four days. His knee's been bothering him. He took those four games to try to get right. First game back, obviously. It's just an awful feeling."
The news comes as a huge blow to the Nuggets organisation, who had been rampant since acquiring Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline. Many were predicting a deep run in the post-season and Heatcheck's BJ Armstrong even went as far to say that they had a championship-calibre roster and would win the title within the next three seasons.
With Murray now out for the remainder of the season, while not impossible, they will face a mammoth task competing against Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz in the playoffs without their star guard.
Murray averaged a team second-best 21.2 points to go along with 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 48 games (all starts) this season.
Murray has averaged 16.3 points, 3.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 345 career games (271 starts) since being selected by the Nuggets with the seventh overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.
Denver sit in fourth place in the Western Conference standings and are scheduled to host the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Other NBA stars from around the league took to Twitter to share support for Murray, including Steph Curry, Zach LaVine and Myles Turner.
Murray was the driving force behind Denver's magical run to the Western Conference Finals last season, averaging 26.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists as the Nuggets came back from 3-1 in two consecutive series against the Jazz and Clippers before being eliminated by the eventual champion the LA Lakers.
Murray had two incredible 50-point performances against the Jazz, including one in Game 6 of the series in a do-or-die encounter, as well as scoring 40 points - including six three-pointers - against the Clippers in a series-clinching Game 7.
In doing so, Denver became the first team in NBA history to come back from multiple 3-1 deficits in the same post-season and reached the Conference Finals for the first time since 2009.
