Nuggets Heavily Favored to Make Postseason Despite Jamal Murray Injury

Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray tore his ACL back in April, and it will likely keep him out for a large chunk if not all of the 2021-22 NBA season. 

Denver drafted guard Nah’Shon Hyland and brought back Austin Rivers in free agency to help deal with the Murray injury, but Monte Morris, Facundo Campazzo and Will Barton will all play major roles in replacing Murray’s production. 

MVP Nikola Jokic carried the Nuggets without Murray last season, as Denver actually went 16-8 without Murray in the 2020-21 season. That stretch seems to have given the oddsmakers at WynnBET confidence in Denver, as it has -650 odds to make the postseason next year. 

Denver has the same odds as the Dallas Mavericks and better odds than the Los Angeles Clippers to make the postseason next year. If the Nuggets can survive a regular season that will mainly be played without Murray, they could be a dark horse in the postseason where they are +2000 to win the NBA Finals.

Murray was a major driving force in the Nuggets’ Western Conference Finals berth in the 2019-20 season, and he would be a major addition down the stretch if Denver can keep itself in the playoff picture. 

Last season, the Nuggets finished with the No. 3 seed in the West as they held the tiebreaker over the Clippers. 

With Jokic playing at an MVP-caliber level, it’s no secret that the Nuggets will be one of the better teams in the NBA as long as he keeps up that production. If Morris, Barton, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. can all continue to improve, the Nuggets could keep themselves out of the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, where oddsmakers expect the Clippers to fall to, and make some noise in the postseason.

Can the Nuggets make the playoffs without Jamal Murray? Get in the action on the WynnBET app.