“That was taken away from me for awhile and wasn’t sure what I was gonna do without it” - Denver Nuggets star chasing individual goals as he returns after a lengthy injury break
As Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray prepares for his return to the NBA courts, he reflects on the time he spent while rehabbing his knee injury. Murray is returning from a left torn ACL and missed the entire 2021-22 season.
The Denver Nuggets finished their season with a first-round exit against the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors. Without much help, the two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic had a hard time leading his team to the next stage of the postseason. They were, however, able to prolong their playoff appearance to five games during the 2022 playoffs.
Both Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. missed significant time due to injuries. Porter Jr. only played nine games last season before getting sidelined to undergo back surgery. Due to this, the Nuggets had a hard time looking for a secondary option and Jokic was left doing everything all by himself.
As the start of Denver's season slowly approaches, Murray is excited to be back on the floor with his teammates. The Denver Nuggets are an underdog team in the tough Western Conference. With Murray's return to action, it gives the team additional firepower to compete against the rest of the league.
In an interview with SiriusXM, Murray believes in his abilities and is confident that he can return to being an All-NBA guard for the Nuggets.
"Obviously," Murray answered when asked about if he considers himself as an All-NBA talent.
"I'm just happy to be back on the court. That was taking away from me for awhile and wasn't sure what I was gonna do without it."
“I’m excited to go prove myself again”
Jamal Murray has individual goals but he’s mainly happy to be back on the court.
@VinceGoodwill | @Nuggets | @BeMore27 https://t.co/1Fp23MVkxQ
"I’m excited to go prove myself again."
The Denver Nuggets have a stacked roster that could be their key to making the Finals
The 2022-23 NBA season is slowly approaching and the Nuggets have built a great supporting cast to surround their MVP. With various veteran players, their team is well-experienced to compete in the Western Conference.
Last season, the Nuggets had a difficult time looking for a consistent secondary option to help Nikola Jokic. The closest that the team had was Aaron Gordon, who only averaged 15.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 52% from the field and 33% from downtown. It clearly wasn't enough for the Nuggets to have an advantage against other teams. Due to this, Jokic had to take over the entire team and do everything himself.
Over the summer, Denver acquired experienced players to assist the four-time All-Star. The Nuggets signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith from the Washington Wizards after trading Will Barton and Monte Morris. During free agency, the team signed DeAndre Jordan on a one-year deal. This adds a backup center that's capable of protecting the rim when Jokic is on the bench. Additionally, the Nuggets signed Bruce Brown on a two-year $13 million contract. In doing this, Denver's defense will surely improve.
The Nuggets have agreed to a deal with DeAndre Jordan, source confirms as @ShamsCharania first reported.
Bruce Brown has agreed to a 2-year, $13M+ deal with the Denver Nuggets, sources tell @malika_andrews. https://t.co/nc3UJgmCst
The Denver Nuggets will play against the Utah Jazz to start their 2022-23 NBA season in October 19th.