Jamal Murray’s intermittent injury report appearances this season are practically a crash course in human leg anatomy.
A hamstring. A knee. Both ankles. His shins.
Now, a calf.
None of the injuries have been severe enough to sideline him for more than three-ish weeks, but they’ve each been accompanied by a sense of foreboding, which is owed to the Nuggets’ recent playoff history with and without Murray. When he was healthy in 2023, they won a championship. When he was unavailable in 2022 due to a torn ACL, they were an easy first-round out.
So continues the cycle of unease, with Murray nursing a left calf strain as the Nuggets begin their 2024 second-round series Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Murray served a helping of optimism earlier this week when he scored 32 points on the injured calf in a close-out win over the Lakers.
But his individual performance doubled as a reminder of what the Nuggets would be missing if he suffered any complications to the injury from over-exertion: He became the first player in NBA history to make two game-winning shots inside of five seconds remaining in the same playoff series. He scored nine points in clutch time Monday — all via go-ahead baskets when Denver was tied or trailing. As usual, he took over as the team’s scoring engine with a game on the line, even more so than Nikola Jokic.
It seems simple: If the Nuggets want to survive Minnesota and return to the Western Conference Finals, a healthy and productive Murray is a necessity. Take it from one of Murray’s biggest fans: Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
“Jokic is the best player in the league,” Edwards told The Denver Post recently, “but without (Murray), they’re not a championship team.”
Earlier this season, Edwards was prompted during a video interview to reveal his favorite player in the NBA to watch right now. “Probably for real, for real, though, Jamal Murray,” Edwards said matter-of-factly, referring to Minnesota’s first-round loss to Denver last season. He went on to call Murray “the truth.”
So after Murray amassed 20 points and six assists April 10 in a 116-107 win over the Timberwolves — a win that turned out to be the reason Denver will host the first two games of this series — The Post asked Edwards to elaborate on why.
“I mean (expletive), he averaged 30 in the Western Conference Finals,” Edwards explained. “If you can find me somebody that don’t think Jamal Murray is one of the best (freaking) guards in the league, then they’re crazy. He averaged 30 in the Western Conference Finals. He’s the reason they won. I mean, without him, they’re not good. It’s just that simple.”
With a playoff rematch on the horizon, the comment turned out to be more prescient than even Edwards could have realized.
Anthony Edwards (5) of the Minnesota Timberwolves passes to Mike Conley (10) as Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets defends during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
He and the Wolves are coming in hot off a sweep of Phoenix in which Edwards averaged 31 points, eight rebounds, 6.3 assists and two steals. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are 13-10 (.565) this season when Murray doesn’t play. They are 48-16 (.750) when he does, including the playoffs. In the regular season, the Nuggets averaged 7.8 more points per possession when he was on the floor than when he was off the floor And that’s not just a Jokic-dependent number; Murray often staggers with the Nuggets’ second unit while Jokic is on the bench.
Edwards may be a notorious trash-talker, but he didn’t intend for even a hint of shade in his comment. He said it in earnest — full compliments to Murray.
“He just can get hot,” Edwards said. “He sees one go in, he might make six, seven in a row, like he did tonight. I’m one of the guys that loves watching him play.”
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Based on Murray’s own trepidation, his jump shot will be the primary cause for concern if he attempts to thread the needle between staying healthy and performing at a high level. Even after the encouraging series finale against the Lakers, his splits are 40% from the field and 29.4% from 3-point range so far in the 2024 playoffs.
“I was moving well enough for me to go (in Game 5). Obviously that’s a big thing if you’re not moving well. But my biggest thing was jumping,” Murray said Monday. “I think it was tough for me to leave the ground, even just on jump shots. I tried to like have a deeper gather just so I didn’t put a lot of stress on my calves. So in the first quarter, the shots I took, I was just gathering a little more.
“… But now that we’ve got a week off, I’m just glad I get to rest the body and come back fresh and rejuvenated against the T-Wolves.”
Rejuvenated Jamal Murray vs. hindered Jamal Murray is the same as saying championship vs. bust for Denver. Ant Man knows.
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