Things had gotten pretty ugly on the Jamal Murray front and Nuggets fans were on the verge of a full-blown panic. Over the past five months, there has been very little reason for optimism with things seeming to get progressively more concerning.
This downward trend started with a few weeks left in the regular season when Murray missed a few weeks with an injury. He was able to fight his way back for the playoffs but was pretty clearly not himself. He suffered another injury five games into the playoffs and that just made things worse.
Murray fought as hard as he could, but it wasn’t enough and the Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs in round two. At the very least, one figured that would give Murray a much-needed opportunity to get some rest and recovery for his body.
But instead, Murray joined Team Canada almost immediately and was right back to basketball. The Olympics were a bit of a disaster for Jamal as he frankly looked bad out there on both ends. He had no explosion and was having trouble moving. He became a bit of a detriment to his team which suffered a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals.
On top of all this, the owner was saying that Murray wasn’t 100% and there was also a contract extension lingering over the whole situation. Ultimately, Murray showed up early to training camp and the team signed him to a new four-year, max deal.
This calmed things down for a few days, but then the preseason started and Murray did not look like a player who had recovered from an injury. He was completely struggling on both ends of the floor and still lacked any burst. He couldn’t get any shots to fall either and had to leave a game early and miss another because of a “funny” feeling in his knee.
Murray bounces back in a big way
With the regular season opener on the horizon, it was looking bleak and Nuggets fans were forced to wonder if this is just the new reality. Then on Thursday night, Murray showed up and looked like a brand-new player.
Murray eased every lingering concern with a phenomenal preseason performance that answered just about every question. He played 29 minutes, scoring 25 points with 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Murray weirdly struggled a bit around the rim but he hit 5/6 three-point attempts and got to the free throw line 8 times, making all 8.
The explosion, aggressiveness, and shot-making that have come to define Murray’s game were all on full display. He even had his burst and energy on the defensive end. It looked like he wanted to come out and make a statement and that’s exactly what he did.
It’s just one preseason game, but man is this reassuring. If Murray was permanently damaged in some way and not ready to contribute like the star he is, the Nuggets would have been in big trouble. This showing proved that the Jamal Murray we all know and love is very much still a thing. Now we just need to see him do it on a nightly basis and stay on the floor.