Jamal Murray quits the match due to an ankle roll. Today, the NBA’s 65-game requirement has not been met.
The play was unfortunate. Jamal Murray drove to the rim, drew the defense, and then kicked the ball back to Nikola Jokic for an easy 13-foot basket on Thursday in the second quarter against Miami. Murray, however, rolled his ankle, trod on Aaron Gordon’s foot, and collapsed to the ground in agony when he landed and rotated. He attempted to stand up and move past it, took a seat again, and quickly left the game, never to come back.
Although coach Michael Malone’s remarks didn’t seem overly alarming, the severity of an ankle sprain is typically not revealed until the following day. Although the Nuggets have not yet commented, Murry is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Lakers.
Murray only played 14 minutes in that game—less than 15—so he did not technically meet the NBA’s new 65-game requirement for postseason honors. A player may miss up to 17 games under this regulation (which was negotiated into the CBA and approved by the players), but missing more than 18 renders them ineligible. But if a player participates in two other games for at least fifteen minutes, they can play in 63 and still qualify. Murray has clearly missed 16 games, but in addition, he has now missed two additional games because of injury after exiting the game against the Heat. As per the legal text, this disqualifies him.
If Murray plays in each of the Nuggets’ remaining games, Denver may file an appeal, but it doesn’t seem like that will matter (whether or not he plays Saturday against the Lakers). The case that Murray belongs on an All-NBA team or deserves another award of that caliber based on his play this regular season is a difficult one. Perhaps no player in the league makes the same transition from “he’s good in the regular season” to “he’s a superstar in the playoffs” as Murray does. This season, Murray is averaging 20.5 points per game, shooting 42.3% from three, and dishing out 6.3 assists. These are almost All-Star levels, but not quite, therefore he isn’t quite an All-NBA (top 15) player.
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