NBA

Michael Malone Speaks Highly Of Jamal Murray After His Recent Self-Doubt

Nuggets Jamal Murray (left knee), Jeff Green (back) questionable vs Grizzlies

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are 15-10 so far this season. That puts Denver in first place for the Northwest Division and fourth in the Western Conference. They are 6-4 in their last ten games and won a huge buzz beater to stun the Trail Blazers on the road. Jamal Murray hit a clutch three to give the Nuggets a 121-120 win on Thursday night. That boost of confidence was much needed for Murray as he’s been having some self-doubt about about his abilities. 

Murray had a nice playoff run for the Nuggets in the 2020-21 season, but missed the entire 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury. He’s has yet to feel like his former self and needed something positive to happen. His buzzer beater to get the Nuggets a win was exactly that and his head coach Michael Malone said he had full belief that his PG was going to be able to bounce back.

NBA betting sites have the Nuggets at (+1400) to win the Finals this season.

Jamal Murray knocks down buzzer beater three vs Blazers

Head coach Michael Malone spoke to HoopsHype on the conversation he had with Murray about his self-doubt.

“He asked me ‘are you guys gonna trade me?’ That’s where his mind was, he was like ‘maybe I’m damaged goods, maybe they don’t want me anymore’. And obviously, I quickly shut that down and said ‘Jamal, we love you, I love you. You’re not being traded. You’re gonna come back a better player,” – Michael Malone

His head coach added how battling back from an ACL injury is a serious deal for a professional athlete, both mentally and physically. Doubting your physical abilities after an injury like this is extremely common to happen. Malone spoke about how they never wanted to put any pressure on Murray to return sooner than he should.

“The hardest part of doing an ACL is not the injury, it’s the rehab. It’s that journey, and there’s some dark days.”… “We’ve never rushed him back. We’ve never put any pressure on him. He’s had our full support throughout the whole process,” – Michael Malone

The Nuggets next game is tomorrow night vs the Utah Jazz at 9:00pm.

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Zach Wolpin
Sports Editor

Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.

All posts by Zach Wolpin
Author photo
Zach Wolpin Sports Editor

Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.

All posts by Zach Wolpin