It’s hard to imagine a more devastating injury at a worse time than the torn ACL suffered by Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets on Monday night against the Golden State Warriors. Although, if you’re looking for such an example, the Warriors themselves are a team that recently endured such tribulations with Klay Thompson’s own torn ACL in the 2018-19 NBA Finals.
The Nuggets rightly saw themselves as a franchise on the rise until Murray’s catastrophic injury. It changed the whole calculus for their plans both this season and going forward into the 2021-22 season as well.
We’ll take a look at the three biggest takeaways in the aftermath of Murray’s injury as it relates to the future of the Denver Nuggets.
The Denver Nuggets have been devastated by Jamal Murray’s torn ACL. Here’s our first takeaway from the situation: The championship window is closed.
The Nuggets had every reason to believe they were a championship-caliber franchise before this week began. They had made a win-now move to get Aaron Gordon at the NBA trade deadline, and they added him to a core that was already crackling at a high level.
In order for them to be a true contender, even with other contenders like the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers battling injuries and absences, they needed all hands on deck. Without Murray, who is their second-best player behind Nikola Jokic, that full-strength status is out of the question.
Murray took some time to get rolling at the start of the season, but he got his scoring average up to a career-high 21.2 points per game and shooting splits of .477/.408/.869. It’s a disastrous situation for a team that had such high expectations after an incredible performance in last season’s NBA bubble that saw them reach the Western Conference Finals, and it’s absolutely tragic for Murray himself.
Takeaway No. 2 for the Denver Nuggets in the aftermath of Jamal Murray’s injury: His recovery will go into next season or longer
Jamal Murray’s injury won’t just damage the 2020-21 outlook for the Denver Nuggets, it will also have longer-lasting repercussions down the road. An optimistic recovery period would see him return in nine to 12 months, but there’s a varying timetable with this injury.
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Using past players who have suffered this injury as a barometer, Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL 71 games into the 2012-13 season (also with the Denver Nuggets, ironically enough) and missed all of the 2013-14 season. He came back in 2014-15 but has never played more than 68 games in a season since (worth noting that he only played more than 68 games twice in his career before it).
Gallinari remains a lethal offensive force, but availability remains a critical flaw in what he can bring a team.
Zach LaVine also suffered a torn ACL in 2016-17 at the age of 22 (a year younger than Murray is now) and missed 11 months. He struggled upon his return, but his progression to stardom since then has been impressive.
Murray may very well miss all of next season, but LaVine’s star turn should be a source of hope for him, his family and his Denver Nuggets teammates.
Takeaway No. 2 for the Denver Nuggets in the aftermath of Jamal Murray’s injury: Nikola Jokic’s MVP campaign
While the biggest questions surrounding this injury revolve around Jamal Murray himself and the future of his team, we’d be remiss if we didn’t consider how the fallout may impact his teammate Nikola Jokic.
Earlier in the season, it seemed like Jokic was the only player on this roster that came ready to play at a high level coming off last season’s late ending. He put up video game numbers, more often than not being the only reason the Nuggets were winning games or even staying close in them.
He was a legitimate MVP candidate throughout it, even when the Nuggets didn’t have a record commensurate with what you’d expect. As Murray heated up, so too did the Nuggets and before long the team was playing on a level worthy of their superstar center.
Now with Murray out, it’s going to once again be tough for the Nuggets to string together wins and maintain their fourth-seeded place in the Western Conference standings.
Jokic’s incredible campaign is certainly worthy of the MVP award, and he’s been aided by injuries to other top candidates like Joel Embiid and LeBron James, but Murray’s absence can most likely only hurt his case in the end.