The Nuggets made a mistake by not just ruling out Murray and MPJ
Apr 29, 2022, 4:45 PM
In the past month, the Nuggets kept everyone hanging on a daily basis, wondering if Jamal Murray and/or Michael Porter Jr. would return to the lineup. They never ruled either player out for the season, leaving the door open for them to play at the end of the regular season or in the playoffs.
That provided hope. There was a notion that reinforcements could arrive at any minute. There was a belief that the cavalry was about to ride over the hill at any moment to save the day.
Before every game, there was always a slight chance that the two stars might return. Then, the injury report would come out and hopes would be dashed.
It was a frustrating roller coaster. And it was made worse by the team.
By not ruling the players out for the season, the Nuggets planted the seed that they could return. They implied that something could be imminent.
On Friday, Murray met with the media for the first time. He talked extensively about his injury situation, painting a vastly different picture.
The guard said he’s currently at 85%. In his mind, he wasn’t close to returning.
“In terms of the intensity of the playoffs, I know that I’m just not there,” Murray explained.
While he can shoot and dunk, his knee sometimes reacts negatively to workouts. Soreness is still an issue.
In addition, it’s the other elements of the game that had him worried. He talked about fighting through screens, diving for loose balls and other unpredictable things that he wasn’t ready to take on. Not yet.
“Once I feel like I can do everything that the game demands, I’ll have no problem,” Murray added.
And the Nuggets brass seemed to agree. Tim Connelly had the same explanation for why the guard wasn’t on the court during Denver’s first-round loss to Golden State.
“As we got in the postseason, I thought it’d be irresponsible for him to enter that level of competition,” the Nuggets president of basketball operations said on Friday. “The decision was a collective one. And collectively, we didn’t feel like he was ready.”
That’s fine. It’s totally understandable and reasonable. But that begs one simple question: Why didn’t the Nuggets just say that two weeks ago?
Instead, they did the opposite. Connelly said on “The Drive” that it was up to Murray if he wanted to play. Michael Malone reiterated that fact prior to a meaningless regular-season finale against the Lakers.
That led everyone to believe that the team believed Murray could play, but the guard wasn’t returning to the court. That’s a reasonable assumption for people to make. And it could’ve been easily avoided if the team’s message had been different.
“Day to day, it’s such a fluid environment, you’d have pretty dramatic twists and turns,” Connelly explained. “We didn’t want to be definitive and mislead anyone.”
Huh?
Instead, they were vague and misled everyone.
Had the Nuggets said two weeks ago what they said today, everything would’ve been fine. But they didn’t. So now it looks like they’re trying to get the genie back in the bottle.
Murray wasn’t close to returning to the court. After hearing him today, there was zero chance that he was going to play against the Warriors. He wasn’t ready. Not physically. Not mentally.
“I have to feel good to play,” Murray said.
He didn’t. In any way.
Honesty is always the best policy. That’s a cliche for a reason.
The Nuggets should’ve adhered to that down the stretch. They weren’t intentionally dishonest, but they also were upfront and clear about what was going on.
As a result, they created false hope. Because of that, they put pressure on a player to return who wasn’t ready to get back on the court.
That was a misstep. It made a bad situation even worse.
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