Murray’s injury issues hampered by tight season
Nuggets guard: ‘Only time I shoot the ball is game days’
DENVER — Jamal Murray dug his right shooting hand into his forehead as he sat and examined the postgame box score from a third consecutive Nuggets loss when frustration consumed him.
Murray, after falling to the Bucks 125112, read his final statistics aloud to repor ters during a virtual news conference with discernable disgust: 11 points, on 4-of-17 shooting (1-of-7 from deep), with three rebounds, four assists and a minus-3 rating.
A brutal performance in Murray’s return from a one-game absence with a knee injury, and further irritation for a rising NBA star who can’t find his touch.
“I’ve been playing basketball too long to go 4-for-17,” Murray said. “I’m getting all the good looks I want. I’ve just got to be better. I can be way better. I’m not playing at the level I need to right now. I put every loss on me.”
Murray’s willingness to own defeats is honorable — if only partially accurate.
The Nuggets (12-11) are trending in the wrong direction in a crowded Western Conference playoff chase, unable to sustain a reliable secondary scoring option to pair with Nikola Jokic’s nightly brilliance. Ask coach Michael Malone, though, and the greater issue is his team’s lackluster second-half team defense. Then add in a rash of injuries.
The Nuggets, in a tightened NBA season,
have several problems to solve.
Murray is back from an ailing knee, but he also missed one game in December with an elbow injury. Murray described his condition Monday as being “banged up” while he has been “tr ying to save his body.” But at what cost to preparation with little practice time available in between games?
“The only time I shoot the ball is game days, which is really bad. I don’t like that, and it’s showing,” Murray said. “Getting healthy is a priority and I’m just tr ying to find a way to get my shot.”
Malone added: “No one is 100-percent (healthy) right now.”
Denver won’t of fer excuses for why it managed to go 11-5 in Januar y, but now is just a game above .500. But it’s clear a shortened offseason following a deep bubble playoff run has taken its toll on the Nuggets.
Will Barton, when asked about Denver’s 5-6 record this season at Ball Arena, said: “We’ve got the altitude. But with the way we came into the season, (shoot), sometimes the altitude is killing us, too.”
On Monday, Bucks forward Khris Middleton dominated Barton in the paint, scoring 29 points with several late baskets to seal a Milwaukee victory. And, like Murray, Barton was ready to accept the blame.
“Definitely, that was on me, Middleton kicked my (butt) in the low post tonight,” Barton said. “All game long, especially in the clutch. I’ve got to be better than that.”
The Nuggets currently hold the No. 8 seed in the West, and barring significant improvements in almost all nonJokic areas, the team is at risk of assuming its typical role as postseason underdogs. Murray, wearing his emotions late-night Monday on Zoom video, is tiring of that narrative as well.
“I don’t really want to be resilient anymore. I want to be the team that hits first,” Murray said. “To do that, you’ve got to play well, you’ve got to come out with a physical mindset, and you’ve got to be consistent with the way you play. We know we can bounce back. That’s almost easy to us. That’s almost second nature for us to come bounce back (with) guys injured and guys coming in to step up. … That’s what the Nuggets have been forever.
“We’ve got to star t hitting first.”