A 3-2 start may not be exactly what the Nuggets were dreaming of, but overall, things are going well. However, the team shared some news that should be enough to make any fan recoil: Jamal Murray has been playing through calf tightness.
On Sunday, coach David Adelman said that Murray did practice, but he practiced “with care” as he revealed that Murray played through the tightness during Friday’s loss to the Blazers. Murray is listed as probable for Monday night against the Kings, so hopefully, this is just precautionary.
Still, this is a team, and specifically, a player who has been plagued by soft tissue injuries to his lower body in recent years. One of the only things that can derail this Denver squad is a major injury to a key player. Seeing that Murray is already dealing with something in the second week of the season is almost enough to set off alarm bells.
Nuggets’ injury report will be something to monitor all year
Appearing on an NBA injury report is hardly a big deal. Players are frequently questionable and probable without it meaning too much. The league has cracked down on injury reporting in recent years, so teams are taking extra precautions to make sure they are revealing every minor issue that could possibly affect a player’s game status.
So, this isn’t a reason to panic yet, but it’s definitely cause for concern given the specific player and ailment. The Nuggets have beefed up their rotation and added depth, which will help navigate the regular season, but that doesn’t mean they can survive extended absences for their stars.
In recent years, both Murray and Aaron Gordon have struggled with soft tissue injuries and been forced to miss time or play at far less than 100%. Realistically, by the end of a grueling NBA season, very few players are 100%
But the fact that we’re just five games into the season and Murray is already playing through a calf injury is fairly concerning. Hopefully, this is nothing serious, but if there’s any chance this could linger, the Nuggets may be better suited to just sit him down and rest him.
We don’t want to be dealing with this all season, and the Nuggets have much bigger ambitions than getting off to a good start in November. This is the first negative story we’ve seen about Murray in months. The last thing we want is to kill these good vibes, so the Nuggets need to make sure they are extremely careful with this entire situation.