Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Jamal Murray was “devastated” after being diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Speaking Wednesday for the first time since the Nuggets announced they would be without their star striker indefinitely, Malone said the team could see Murray’s distress over the season-ending injury.
“It’s been 24, 36 emotional hours,” Malone said before the Nuggets faced the Miami Heat. “Jamal is devastated, I understand. I think the team is a bit too. We understand the importance of Jamal Murray. We are a better team when Jamal Murray is healthy. … He is almost second in all the greats. [statistical] category on the team behind Nikola [Jokic]. “
Murray suffered the injury with 50.6 seconds remaining in the Nuggets’ 116-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors Monday night. The goalkeeper averaged 21.2 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds as he threw 47.7% from the field this season.
With title aspirations bolstered by Aaron Gordon’s trade, the Nuggets were surprised Monday night after Murray came down.
“It was very hard. We stayed with this game in San Francisco,” Malone said. “Just sitting with him on the way to the airport, your heart breaks because you can see the raw emotion you felt.”
Malone told his players to regroup and understand that they still have a chance to fight in the West.
“Some roles will obviously change,” Malone said. “I don’t want a person to think it has to be Jamal Murray. It’s not the case. It has to be by committee.”
The Nuggets will have to continue this season and part of next season without Murray. Malone said rehabilitation of a broken ACL can typically range from nine to ten months.
“We love him. We have his back and we’ll help him do that walk next year,” Malone said. “I have no doubt he’ll be a better player again, a stronger player. That’s how he did it. He’s in his DNA. I don’t expect anything less.”