Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray made his return to the NBA court less than 18 months after he tore his ACL against the Golden State Warriors back in the 2020-21 season. Murray is one of the most creative and explosive scoring guards in the NBA, and both the league and the Nuggets sorely missed his presence. And perhaps nobody other than Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell missed the player he had a scoring extravaganza against during the 2020 NBA Bubble.
Mitchell, happy to see the 25-year old guard out of Kentucky healthy and back on the court once more, gave his former Northwest Division rival the warmest of welcomes on Twitter. This is further proof that there is no better love in sports than the love of a peer.
The 26-year old Cavs guard responded to a tweet by Jamal Murray, saying: “Welcome back brodie💯”
Welcome back brodie💯 https://t.co/ympy5JpWYp
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) October 4, 2022
Most NBA fans remember Mitchell and Murray's historic Game 4 performances in the bubble, when they put up 51 and 50 points respectively in a 129-127 Utah Jazz victory that increased the Jazz' series lead to 3-1. Murray continued his hot streak in Games 5 and 6 of that series to stave off elimination, dropping 42 and 50 points to roar the Nuggets back to life. The Nuggets took the series later on in a low scoring 80-78 Game 7 win after Mike Conley missed his game-winning three-point attempt.
The Nuggets guard then proceeded to eviscerate the Los Angeles Clippers in the next round, bouncing back from yet another 3-1 series deficit after Jamal Murray dropped 40 points in the Game 7 clincher.
Meanwhile, “Spida” Mitchell also dropped 57 points earlier in the Jazz-Nuggets series in a 10-point Game 1 loss. While he has proven his capabilities as one of the best postseason scorers of all time, there have been questions surrounding his perimeter defense in recent history, especially during the Jazz' latest postseason defeat against the Dallas Mavericks. A trade to the Cavs means a fresh start, and perhaps Mitchell could regain his two-way impact.
After Mitchell's move to the Cavs this past offseason, fans will only be treated to a potential bubble rematch twice this upcoming season. The Cavs and the Nuggets will square off on January 7 and February 24, 2023, and hopefully both Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray are healthy by then so fans could be treated to yet another explosive scoring matchup.
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