Within the next few hours, the Ball Arena in Colorado will host the clash of two major titans – Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The NBA world’s eyes will be on them as they face off in Game 1 for the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Being the defending champions, the Nuggets would want to repeat their success by securing an early lead during the upcoming series. 

The Denver side is supposed to benefit from the three days falling between Game 2 and Game 3 of the Semis next week, as other teams catch up with them. Both T-Wolves and Nuggets are starting way ahead of schedule after both teams won the first round of Playoffs in 5 or fewer games. But as much advantage as the Nuggets hold, they might be without their rising superstar tonight.

A few hours ago, the Nuggets released their Injury Report for the upcoming matchup. The names of Colin Gillespie and Vlatko Čančar were no surprise since they had been declared ‘OFS (Out for Season)‘ a long time ago. However, the report also contained the name of their point guard Jamal Murray, whose availability has been declared as a ‘GTD (Game Time Decision)’ in light of his calf injury. Other than the trio, no other player from the roster is present on the report.

The 27-year-old point guard had developed a calf strain during Game 4 of the Nuggets-Lakers Playoff clash. Despite having played for 39 minutes during the earlier part of the game, the player left the court during the 4th quarter after just 6 seconds of playtime. After getting his injury checked, the player was listed on the report for Game 5 under the ‘Questionable’ tag. Head Coach Michael Malone agreed that Murray should not take any unnecessary risks by stating, “We’re not risking further injury.”

Murray, however, was not one to listen. He appeared in Game 5 and proceeded to score 32 points, three rebounds and seven assists. Furthermore, he even delivered the final shot, securing the win that allowed the Nuggets to reach the Semifinals. Since that game, the player has had over four days of rest. According to Malone, he has been “in and out” of game practices this week, and the team management is confident that his calf is in a much better condition than before.

The Minnesota Timberwolves has only one player on its Injury Report: Jaylen Clark. However, given that the player has not been available for even a single team game this season, his absence will not affect the franchise in any way.

Jamal Murray Stats vs Timberwolves

During his eight years as a player for the Denver Nuggets, Jamal Murray has gone up against the Timberwolves 21 times. 7 of those games took place once Anthony Edwards joined the roster. Despite facing strong opposition from the star scorer, the player continued to maintain his stats.

In his last 7 regular season matchups against the Anthony Edwards-led Timberwolves, Murray scored an average of 20.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. It is almost on par with the average he had maintained during the recent regular season and playoffs. Additionally, the average of his field goals stood at 7.3-14.3, his three-pointers at 2-4.6, and his free throws at 3.9-4.4.

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The last time the player and his rival team crossed swords was back in April. Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves’ offensive effort by contributing 25 points. On the Nuggets side, Murray assisted Nikola Jokić and others by contributing 20 points through his 8-13 field goals and 4-6 three-pointers.

Jamal Murray may not be the leading scorer for the Denver Nuggets. However, he has made his importance known through his recent feat and years of experience competing against the Timberwolves. Therefore, losing him at this crucial stage may not prove advantageous for his franchise.