Jamal Murray came out of Thursday’s 2023 NBA Finals rematch between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat with a apparent injury to right ankle. The incident occurred at the end of the second quarter, with three minutes remaining. Murray headed to the lane to kick Nikola Jokic. He made the pass but landed awkwardly and rolled his right ankle.
His return was questionable, but the Nuggets ruled out the stellar guard.
Here is the progress of his injury:
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This is a hard blow for the Nuggets and Murray. The latter enjoyed a healthy return year in 2023-24 after missing a year and a half of action with a torn ACL. He guided the team to a championship.
However, the 2023-24 season has been overshadowed by injuries. Murray has already missed 16 games. He suffers from various ailments in his quad, shin, hamstring, knee and ankle.
Murray is vital to the Nuggets’ hopes of defending their title. He’s been huge in their run in 2023. Denver is hoping this will be a short-term issue, especially with only over 20 games left in the regular season.
Who will replace Jamal Murray in the starting lineup?
Jamal Murray’s absence could see the Denver Nuggets turn to Reggie Jackson. The veteran has scored the point in Murray’s 16 absences this season. He also starts the second half of the Heat-Nuggets game.
Jackson has been reliable in these situations. In those 16 games, Jackson averaged 16.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists on a 53/44/72 split. The Nuggets, however, went 9-7 in those games.
The race to top the Western Conference standings is heating up, and for Denver, home-field advantage could be a game-changer in the playoffs due to the altitude. This was an integral part of their success last year.
The Nuggets (40-19) are two games back from the top seed in third place, so it’s well within their reach to earn the top spot. However, Jamal Murray’s potential absence could limit Denver’s ceiling.
It will be difficult to replace the connection he developed with Nikola Jokic, especially in the clutch with his 20.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game on a 48/42/86 split.
