More important players for Michael Malone’s team have been added to the injury report ahead of Friday’s Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Game 3.
After losing the first two games of a best-of-seven series at home, the Nuggets are attempting to become one of just a select few teams in NBA history to overcome a 2-0 series lead. The ailments Denver is dealing with are a contributing factor in the team’s initial disadvantage.
Additionally, Jamal Murray’s left leg strain remains on the injury report, as it has been throughout the entire series. He is once more dubious, and two more Nuggets who have been dealing with leg ailments against the Wolves but haven’t yet been formally added to the injury list have now joined him. Due to leg issues, Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were both labeled as questionable on Thursday. Jackson is battling with a left calf contusion, while the starting two-guard for the Nuggets has a right abdominal contusion.
Murray has been sidelined for the majority of the season after suffering an injury during the In-Season Tournament. Late in Round 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers, he appeared to worsen his primary problem once more. Still, he persevered to win Game 5, the game that sealed the series. But against the Wolves, it’s obvious that he’s been limited. It was only the second time in Murray’s career that he was held to fewer than ten points in a postseason game on Monday. He’s only managed 12.5 points and three assists in the first two games against Minnesota. Murray’s anger has been evident since he was fined for hurling things onto the court.
Anthony Edwards, a fellow Georgia Bulldog who has scored 70 points in the first two games, has KCP stumped. KCP was also crippled at the end of Round 1, but it looks like this may be a new injury because he took Edwards’ knee to his midsection, which made him roll around on the ground for some time. This is why KCP is reported as hurting there. If the Nuggets are to have any chance of a comeback, the two-time champion two-way guard has to slow Edwards down.
In the Lakers series, Jackson again performed poorly, walking off the floor late in an away game. Although he was not included in the report, he has been addressing the problem during Round 2. On Monday, Jackson encountered a problem that hindered him from reaching the locker room. In addition to being a part of one of the few teams in NBA history to overcome a 2-0 deficit—the Clippers in their victory over Dallas—the seasoned guard has been a reliable speller of Murray this season.