Nuggets Injury Report: Are Jamal Murray & Nikola Jokic Healthy For Hawks Matchup?

The Denver Nuggets have lost three out of the last five games they played with the most recent loss being vs the Clippers. Despite the triple-double, Nikola Jokic missed a game-winning three at the buzzer leading to their 100-102 defeat. As they prepare to host the Atlanta Hawks at Ball Arena tonight at 9:00 PM ET, the Nuggets will be looking to bounce back, with a little aid their way.

As per the recently released Injury report, Denver might be missing their key players for the matchup. Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon are on the ‘Probable’ list with left hip inflammation and right foot strain, respectively while the team’s offensive weapon, Jamal Murray is listed as ‘questionable’ with a right knee inflammation. The 6’4 guard had sustained a sprained ankle during the March 21st matchup vs the New York Knicks leading him to miss his seventh consecutive game against LA last matchup. Recent reports had him pegged as suiting up come game time, but it never happened.

Aside from the above three, the Nuggets’ Vlatko Cancar remains ‘Out’ with left knee surgery.

With just five games left for the regular season to end, the NBA champion is running out of time to shake off the rust. There is no doubt that the Denver Nuggets have some of the best players with 6 of their prominent starters averaging points 10 and above. Jokic is playing his usual numbers without much difficulty – 26.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists. In fact, in the seven games that Murray missed, the ‘Joker’ averaged 31.0 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 9.4 assists.

Despite it all, there’s no denying that the two-man game between the Serbian big man and the Canadian point guard is nearly impossible to stop. And the team is just not the same without him.

Jamal Murray’s stellar run faces a break

Jamal Murray is averaging some of the best numbers of his career this season. He is scoring 20.9 points, dishing out 6.7 assists, and grabbing 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting a career-high 41.9% from downtown. What’s more impressive is the offensive rating of the team with Jamal Murray on the floor.

The Denver Nuggets rank seventh in offensive rating in the league this season at 117.3. But this number rises exponentially to 120.1 when Murray is on the court; the same offensive rating of the second-ranked Indiana Pacers (120.0). The number drops drastically to 116.3 without him. Moreover, Murray leads the Nuggets in scoring against the Hawks averaging 29.0.

In his absence however, the Nuggets will turn to Michael Porter Jr, Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and hopefully Jokic who averages 25.0 points against the Hawks.

Read More: What Happened To Jamal Murray? Scary Collision Raises Concern For Nuggets 29 Days Ahead Of Playoffs