While it seemed like the Nuggets were finally getting healthy at the right time, that glimmer of hope has quickly spun off the rails. The team has dealt with small injuries here and there all season and struggled to ever put their full rotation on the floor for consistent minutes.
But in the last month or so, the Nuggets have seen all of Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, Aaron Gordon, and Julian Strawther return from injuries. Everything was falling into place just as the playoffs were set to begin.
Jamal Murray set to miss 5th game in a row
But just as those players were returning, Jamal Murray was ruled out for a game with a tight hamstring. It didn’t seem like much at the time as Murray had been playing well and coming off a good performance.
Murray has continued to be listed as questionable but has ultimately been ruled out for his fifth game in a row on Sunday against the Pacers. What originally looked like some veteran rest for Murray now looks like a potentially concerning injury situation.
Malone says Murray “hopefully” back for playoffs
Before Sunday’s game, Michael Malone offered an update and his comments only fueled the fires of concern in Denver. Malone was asked if Murray will be back for the playoffs as after Sunday the team has just three games remaining in the regular season.
Malone stated, “Hopefully, he's able to be back by then. This has been a weird one. Day-to-day, day-to-day, then all of the sudden, it's not day-to-day." Malone went on to add that the Nuggets aren’t just being careful, “Jamal is hurt”.
This is the absolute last thing Nuggets fans want to hear. The margins are so thin for this team and to have any chance in the playoffs, they need Jokic and Murray at 100%. He has looked good for the last few months and for a soft tissue injury to pop up just weeks before the playoffs start could be a disaster.
This is exactly how Murray situation unfolded last season
This whole situation is eerily familiar as Murray followed a similar timeline last season. He was playing well then all of a sudden started missing games after spraining an ankle. A couple of games off turned into weeks and then Murray rushed back for the playoffs, clearly at less than 100%.
He played through it but hurt himself even worse and had a rough postseason followed by a rough offseason, including a dreadful performance at the Olympics. Hopefully, this year will end differently than last, but the timing and the way this is playing out has my hand hovering over the panic button.