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Jamal Murray left the Denver Nuggets latest loss after suffering a right ankle sprain, and the latest injury update could mean more bad news.
The Denver Nuggets are mainly run through the perennial MVP candidate of Nikola Jokic, but as seen in the past, the supporting cast of Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and others is equally important.
However, with Gordon and Braun out for an extended period, the Nuggets’ injury luck just got even worse. In the team’s latest loss against the Dallas Mavericks, Murray left the game in the third quarter with a right ankle sprain, and though finishing out the period, left the floor for the fourth quarter.
After the game, Denver head coach David Adelman gave a worrisome update on his star guard.
“It’s a huge absence, obviously, offensively,” Adelman said postgame. “Jamal’s such a tough player. If he sits himself because of the pain, it probably hurts. I’m hoping he can come back [for the next game].”
Before the ankle sprain, Murray had been averaging a career-high 24 points per game for the Nuggets. He is set to be evaluated sometime on Tuesday, but as of now, he could be at risk of a long-term absence.
Murray Could Join Loaded Nuggets Injury Report
The injury to Murray is concerning on its own, considering his strong start to the year, scoring his most points per game, on a career-best 48.3% shooting from the field, and 6.8 assists per game. Now, he could join both Gordon and Braun as another one of Denver’s top players set to miss major time.
“It definitely was a hit, especially coming down the stretch,” Nuggets player Spencer Jones said on Murray after the loss. “Everybody knows the deadly pick-and-roll of Mal and [Nikola Jokic]. We definitely struggled.”
While an official diagnosis and return date are still unknown, Murray is now one of three Nuggets starters to be out just six weeks into the season.
Nuggets Injury Update
Jamal Murray sprained his right ankle in the loss to the Mavericks and will be evaluated Tuesday. His absence significantly hurt the offense. If he misses time, he’ll join injured starters Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Christian Braun (left ankle) on the
Previously, Gordon suffered a right hamstring strain in late November and is not expected to return until sometime in January. He was also averaging a career-high 18.8 points a night while being Denver’s stingiest wing defender. The Nuggets have gone 2-2 since Gordon’s been sidelined.
Braun is another key contributor who is set to miss time, as he suffered a left ankle sprain in mid-November. He is also not expected to return until sometime in January, and though he had a slower start to the year, like Gordon, he remains one of the most important defenders on the team.
If Murray goes out for anything more than a few games, Denver will be missing three players who take up nearly 50% of their total salary cap, and put major pressure on their standing in the Western Conference.
Jokic Continues To Dominate, But He’ll Now Need To Do More
Jokic has been the constant for the Nuggets over the past decade, and with Murray potentially out with the other two starters, he’ll take on an even bigger role in the Mile High City going forward.
So far this season, he is once again putting up jaw-dropping numbers that are nearly impossible to fathom, as his 29 points (6th), 12.8 rebounds (1st), 11.1 assists (1st) on 62.1% shooting (8th) are putting him in line to win his fourth MVP award since 2020.
However, despite being the only player to rank in the top ten in all three of the major counting stats, without Murray, Gordon, and Braun, those numbers could rise even higher.
Nikola Jokic on the Nuggets difficulty to execute without Jamal Murray in the lineup:
Besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic is the only other player in the league to win the Player of the Week award multiple times so far this season. Along with the numbers, he’s led Denver to a 14-6 record, but that could easily change now with 43% of their nightly scoring potentially out.
Spencer had his best game of the season after Murray went out, and players like him, Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway, and Peyton Watson will likely see an increase in minutes until Denver gets a verdict on their star guard.
Jokic has proven to carry a team in the past, but doing it in the West again this year is a tough task.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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