Nuggets' Jamal Murray exits Timberwolves game after Julius Randle hit

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With the Denver Nuggets going through some early-season woes, the last thing they need is anything that would hamper the performance of Jamal Murray even further. Concerningly, Murray had to exit to the locker room in the third quarter of the Nuggets’ Friday night contest against the Timberwolves after getting hit on the head by Julius Randle.

Now, Murray is reportedly under concussion protocol and he won’t be returning to action against the Timberwolves, per Katy Winge of Altitude Sports.

The hit from Randle, of course, was far from intentional. Randle was merely navigating an off-ball action involving Murray and Aaron Gordon, and it looked like the Nuggets guard received a bit of a nudge from Anthony Edwards, causing his head to bump towards Randle’s.

At first glance, that hit Murray sustained was very concerning, and his reaction as he stayed on the court for a few more plays following that collision shows that he may have sustained a concussion. He was holding on to his head, and he was clearly rocked by the head to head hit he endured from Randle.

Four more plays passed before the Nuggets took a timeout and removed Murray from the game, and by then, the 27-year-old guard was struggling immensely, clutching on to the bridge of his nose as he did his best to continue doing his job on the defensive end of the floor.

Murray’s health will be of utmost importance to the Nuggets, so there is no way that the team will be rushing him back to action. But considering the struggles of Denver’s bench all throughout the season thus far, an extended absence from Murray could spell early-season disaster.

Unfortunate head collision compounds Jamal Murray and Nuggets’ struggles to begin the season

As if the Nuggets had the margin to endure another bout of misfortune, Jamal Murray’s absence will make life even more difficult for Denver, at least for the next few games or so. At the time of writing, the Nuggets’ starters have scored over 95 percent of their points on Friday night against the Timberwolves, and it’s difficult to win if a team receives barely any production from its reserves.

Russell Westbrook figures to play a larger role while Murray is dealing with a possible concussion, although Westbrook, apart from his 22-point outing against the Brooklyn Nets, has struggled to make much of an impact. His shooting continues to desert him, and teams simply wall him off the paint, negating his biggest strength.

It was telling that Michael Malone opted to bring Julian Strawther in immediately following Murray’s exit from the game. Strawther at least provides the Nuggets with some floor-spacing, which would come in handy in a lineup with Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun in it.

For what it’s worth, Murray has not been shooting the ball well to begin the new campaign. Before exiting against the Timberwolves, he only had six points on 2-7 shooting from the field in what has been a difficult way for him to begin the 2024-25 season.

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