As the Chicago Bulls and star shooting guard Zach LaVine get set to take on the Orlando Magic on April 14, the Denver Nuggets are still reeling from a tragic injury to one of their star players. Earlier this week, the Nuggets announced that standout guard Jamal Murray would miss the rest of the season after a scary injury where he tore his left ACL.
Murray was having a solid run down the stretch for the Nuggets this season prior to this injury, making it even more difficult for this team to succeed in a tough Western Conference playoff race. The Nuggets will have even more reliance placed on superstar big man Nikola Jokic down the stretch this season.
Moreover, there are a lot of similarities between the skill sets of Murray and LaVine. Although LaVine tends to be the more overall athletic of the two guards, both are much more capable offensively than on defense. Murray and LaVine also have that connection back to the Bulls first-year executive vice president of basketball operations and former Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas.
LaVine did offer his support to Murray following this scary injury from a few days ago. He posted on his Twitter timeline late in the night of April 12 for Murray to “stay strong” as he now recovers from this lower-body injury.
https://twitter.com/ZachLaVine/status/1381832174404567040
Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine supporting Jamal Murray
Murray was a spark plug for the Nuggets this season. Prior to this injury, he averaged 21.2 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks. And he shot 47.7 percent from the field, 40.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 86.9 percent from the free-throw line.
This will really be the first time where Murray doesn’t get within a dozen games or so of playing in a full regular season in his NBA career to date. LaVine went through a similar experience (as a player that has remained pretty durable throughout his NBA career) when he injured his knee a few years back.
The 23-year-old Murray was on a career-best pace this season for a number of his per game stats and shooting percentages. It really is tragic that his season ends this early on with such a horrific knee injury.
The Nuggets now own a record of 34-20, as they were one of the NBA’s hottest teams prior to the Murray injury. Meanwhile, the Bulls hold a record of 22-31 heading into a critical matchup with the Magic on April 14 at home at the United Center.