Feb 14, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) motions as he brings the ball up court in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Nuggets star player Jamal Murray opened up on why he didn’t return to playing in the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets star point guard Jamal Murray missed the entire last season due to the ACL injury he sustained the season before. Murray, who always plays well in the playoffs, didn’t get the opportunity to play in the postseason for the last two seasons due to his injury.
There was talk about him returning to play for the Nuggets in the first-round series against the Golden State Warriors, but Murray decided not to play. Some people doubted him, but it was the best option for his team, and himself for the future.
Nikola Jokic has won two back-to-back MVPs in the absence of Jamal Murray, and also Michael Porter Jr. Due to it, Murray was gutted for not being available for helping Jokic after numerous historic performances in the playoffs in the 2019/2020 season.
Recently, Murray opened up on why he didn’t return in the playoffs, and what tempted him to wait for the next season to start. He said, “It was tough, but I just wanted to wait until I was healthy until I could play the game without thinking about it. I didn’t want to be doing both out there, especially in the biggest time of the year for basketball.“
He added, “It was smart of me to miss the playoffs and get my knee right, now I can go into the next season with a lot more confidence.” The Nuggets weren’t in the best of situations to take out the Warriors in the playoffs, and rushing Murray after such a serious injury wouldn’t have been a wise decision.
Coming back from an ACL injury isn’t easy for an athlete. Jamal Murray also had many obstacles to cross on his path to recovery from the injury that cost him 1.5 seasons of his career.
Talking about it, Murray said, “It was challenging, but it got easier. I felt every month I could do something new, strength-wise, and agility-wise, I just saw constant improvement every month. Even now, I’m healthy but I can still see improvement in my game, what I’m comfortable to do, and what and how I want to move on the court, it’s much more fluid than before.”
He added, “Early on, I wasn’t able to move at all. I had to figure out what I was going to do in a pick-and-roll, if I have to see the pass earlier, hit a guy a step earlier, not getting to the paint as deep to hit a floater, just little details you study. That’s what I’ve been doing, studying how to land, all of that stuff goes through your mind. It’s been interesting, you get to learn more about yourself and more about your game as time goes on.”
Now that he is almost fully recovered from the injury, Murray will be suiting up for the Denver Nuggets in the upcoming season that starts next month. It is expected that Jamal Murray will also play in the preseason games, and that will be a great sight for all his fans and Nuggets supporters.
The Denver Nuggets will be a title contender this season. The trio of Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, and Michael Porter Jr. is lethal. Moreover, players like Aaron Gordon, and KCP make them a very strong team that will be tough to beat given any time in the playoffs when Murray is at his best.