The decision truly went right down to the wire, but Jamal Murray will officially give it a go on Thursday night in the Nuggets' pivotal Game 6 matchup with the Thunder. Denver is down 3-2 in the series and facing elimination for the second time during this postseason after beating the Clippers in a do-or-die Game 7 in round one.
The Nuggets were already in a world of roster trouble in terms of their depth after Game 5. They basically have six reliable rotation players with Peyton Watson mixing in here and there as a seventh. But one of the top six, Michael Porter Jr. is seriously compromised due to a shoulder injury, and another in Russell Westbrook has lost his shot at the worst possible time.
Murray will be operating at less than 100%
The situation went from bad to worse on Thursday afternoon as Murray was added to the injury report out of nowhere, listed as questionable with an illness. Interim coach David Adelman spoke mere hours before tip-off and stated that Jamal was a true game-time decision, indicating that he's obviously pretty sick.
While it would be devastating playing without Murray, and it's excellent news that he's available, the fact that his status went right up to tip-off is terrifying. Waiting this long to make a decision in a game of this magnitude indicates that whatever he's dealing with is effecting him quite a bit, which is the last thing Denver needs while trying to fend off elimination against the Thunder.
Nuggets need vintage Murray performance in Game 6
And yet, the Nuggets can't afford for Murray to be compromised. If anything, it's quite the opposite. The team has been cratering around Jokic and Murray is the only guy capable of keeping them afloat. Historically, Jamal has been incredible in the playoffs, and at his best in the biggest moments, including elimination games.
The Nuggets will need his very best on Thursday night if they have any hopes of staying alive against the mighty Thunder. Jokic put forth a Herculean effort in Game 5 and it still wasn't enough. He needs help, and if Murray can't provide it, the Nuggets are in big trouble.
Hopefully, Murray is able to channel all of his energy into these 48 minutes and will be able to gut things out, perhaps even putting forth his own "Flu Game" a la Michael Jordan. It's an unfortuante circumstance, given his health, but under the weather or not, Denver needs Murray to step up and bring his A-game, or their season will be over.