Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are 15-10 so far this season. That puts Denver in first place for the Northwest Division and fourth in the Western Conference. They are 6-4 in their last ten games and won a huge buzz beater to stun the Trail Blazers on the road. Jamal Murray hit a clutch three to give the Nuggets a 121-120 win on Thursday night. That boost of confidence was much needed for Murray as he’s been having some self-doubt about about his abilities.
Murray had a nice playoff run for the Nuggets in the 2020-21 season, but missed the entire 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury. He’s has yet to feel like his former self and needed something positive to happen. His buzzer beater to get the Nuggets a win was exactly that and his head coach Michael Malone said he had full belief that his PG was going to be able to bounce back.
NBA betting sites have the Nuggets at (+1400) to win the Finals this season.
JAMAL MURRAY CALLED GAME pic.twitter.com/gy97R3qlif
— NBA (@NBA) December 9, 2022
Jamal Murray knocks down buzzer beater three vs Blazers
Head coach Michael Malone spoke to HoopsHype on the conversation he had with Murray about his self-doubt.
“He asked me ‘are you guys gonna trade me?’ That’s where his mind was, he was like ‘maybe I’m damaged goods, maybe they don’t want me anymore’. And obviously, I quickly shut that down and said ‘Jamal, we love you, I love you. You’re not being traded. You’re gonna come back a better player,” – Michael Malone
Michael Malone on Jamal Murray: He asked me ‘are you guys gonna trade me?’ That’s where his mind was, he was like ‘maybe I’m damaged goods, maybe they don’t want me anymore’. I shut that down and said ‘we love you, you’re not being traded. You’re gonna come back a better player.’ pic.twitter.com/85ADhftLv2
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) December 9, 2022
His head coach added how battling back from an ACL injury is a serious deal for a professional athlete, both mentally and physically. Doubting your physical abilities after an injury like this is extremely common to happen. Malone spoke about how they never wanted to put any pressure on Murray to return sooner than he should.
“The hardest part of doing an ACL is not the injury, it’s the rehab. It’s that journey, and there’s some dark days.”… “We’ve never rushed him back. We’ve never put any pressure on him. He’s had our full support throughout the whole process,” – Michael Malone
The Nuggets next game is tomorrow night vs the Utah Jazz at 9:00pm.
