3 Things Nuggets fans should root for, 2 to root against to close season
By Ben Handler
Root for: Jamal Murray to get healthy
This is by far the most important thing to root for and arguably the only thing that truly matters. If Jamal Murray isn’t 100% healthy for the playoffs, the Nuggets are in big trouble. We’ve seen what the offense looks like without him recently, and it’s not pretty.
They absolutely need him to make a run in the playoffs and to defend their title, without him, they’re drawing dead. If Murray is right, the Nuggets are the favorites and still the team to beat; I’d even give them an edge over the Celtics.
But we’re quickly running out of time to see Murray again. Realistically he’s going to need some time to ramp up and get back up to speed after missing time with ankle and knee issues. It’s not fair to expect him to immediately step into a playoff game and give us the Jamal Murray we’re used to.
Ideally, he can come back for a couple of these regular season games to get his legs under him and get comfortable again. Seeing the full starting lineup out there would be incredibly reassuring, and seeing Murray back out there before the stakes are raised would be a major boon.