Denver Nuggets get brutal update on Jamal Murray injury

The Denver Nuggets were without star guard Jamal Murray for Monday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Murray was sidelined with a strained right hamstring, which he suffered on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls.

After the win, head coach Michael Malone gave the media an update on the timetable for Murray’s return. He explained that the injury may take a while to heal and that it is not a “one or two-game injury.”

“We’ll kind of continue to talk to our doctors, but his injury is not a one- or two-game injury,” Malone said (h/t Bennett Durando). “That’s what I do know. This will be something that will be longer than we would like. … You have to have the big picture in mind and make sure we’re putting him in position to get healthy before he comes back. Because this is an injury that, if you keep having recurring hamstring injuries or soft tissue injuries, they can linger and become even worse. And that’s the one thing we do not want to happen.”

Julian Strawther & Michael Porter Jr. shine for Denver Nuggets in Jamal Murray’s absence

Though it’s not ideal that Murray will have to miss some time to recover from his injury, the Nuggets may be equipped to fill the void left by his absence.

Both rookie-forward Julian Strawther and Michael Porter Jr. had big games to help lift Denver over New Orleans on Monday.

Strawther poured in an efficient 21 points in just 19 minutes off the bench, knocking down 8-of-13 attempts from the field, including five threes.

Porter Jr. was able to provide a similar scoring punch, just as a starter rather than a reserve. He tallied 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting against New Orleans.

Anytime a star goes down, there are extra shots to be had by the rest of the team. Hopefully for Denver, these two are ready to take on a bit of the burden.