With just six games left on the Denver Nuggets' regular-season slate, coach Mike Malone isn't ready to make the call on whether injured guard Jamal Murray might be available for the postseason.
"I don't think we need to paint ourselves into a corner and make any definitive decisions right now because this is not a mile race where it's four laps and it’s over," Malone told the Denver Post's Mike Singer. "We have no idea where the finish line is. Until we have a better idea of that, let's leave all options on the table and see what happens on a day-to-day basis."
The 25-year-old Murray has missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season to date while recovering from tearing the ACL in his left knee in April 2021.
Prior to that, 2020-21 was the finest campaign of Murray's career. In 48 appearances, the Canadian averaged a personal-best 21.2 points with 4.8 assists, four rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, forming a powerful tandem with MVP Nikola Jokic.
With or without Murray back in the starting lineup, Denver will look to sprint through the finish line. Currently holding the Western Conference's fifth seed, the 46-31 Nuggets can still finish as high as third and as low as seventh. The latter scenario would require the team to win at least one play-in game to secure its spot in the main playoff draw.
"A lot of crazy things can happen with six games to go, as well as into the postseason," Malone said.
