The Nuggets hold their breath, as their season hangs in the balance
Apr 13, 2021, 7:19 AM | Updated: 7:51 am
That collective groan heard around the Mile High City late Monday night was Nuggets Nation in disbelief. They weren’t concerned with their team losing for the second time in two nights, although the 116-107 loss to the Warriors was disappointing. Instead, the fan base was lamenting the fact that the team’s title aspirations were hanging in the balance.
In the final minute of the loss at Golden State, Jamal Murray drove to the basket, trying to get Denver back into the game. When he planted his left leg in the paint, the guard’s left knee buckled. He fell to the floor in a heap, clutching his knee in pain.
The rising star writhed for a few moments, as teammates, coaches and trainers looked on. Eventually, he would hobble to the locker room.
Today, the Nuggets will receive news as to the severity of the injury. Everyone will be holding their breath, as the team’s season hangs in the balance.
With Murray, Denver is a championship contender. Without him, they’ll be lucky to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs.
For Nuggets fans, bad news would be a punch to the gut. The team has legitimate title hopes, as they’re one of the best teams in the league, featuring some of the game’s top young players. To see that disappear in the blink of an eye would be difficult to stomach.
Long-time fans of the team, however, won’t be surprised. It’ll just be the latest heartbreak for a tortured franchise.
They’ve endured David Thompson being pushed down the stairs at Studio 54, nipping his promising career in the bud. They watched Fat Lever miss the first two games of the 1985 Western Conference Finals against the Lakers, a series that also saw Alex English exit with a broken thumb.
They’ve seen a promising young team beat the Sonics in 1994, only to be dealt a fatal blow when LaPhonso Ellis injured his knee playing pick-up basketball during the offseason. They saw Dikembe Mutombo leave for the Hawks via free agency, bringing nothing in return.
They witnessed Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf get caught up in a controversy about the national anthem. They watched a division title go for naught when the season derailed when George Karl was battling cancer.
They dealt with Carmelo Anthony leaving town at the height of his career. And they watched a 57-win season go up in flames when Danilo Gallinari blew out his knee late in a season.
None of those players had a better chance to win a championship than Murray and the Nuggets did this year, however. The Lakers are down. There is no super team in the West. It’s ripe for the picking.
All was going well. Just 48 hours ago, the Nuggets were the hottest team in the NBA, winners of eight straight games. They boasted the leading candidate for MVP in Nikola Jokic, Murray was a borderline All-Star and Michael Porter Jr. was blossoming in front of the world.
Now, that could all go up in smoke. Denver holds its breath, waiting to get punched one more time.
