The Denver Nuggets are set to open the 2022-23 season on the road against the Utah Jazz, and it appears they'll have their two superstars in the lineup.
According to Mike Singer of The Denver Post, both Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray will be available to play in the season opener. Jokic had played in three of the Nuggets five preseason games due to a wrist injury, but that injury doesn't appear to serious enough to put his status in jeopardy at all.
In Murray's case, he hasn't played a regular-season game since the 2020-21 season when he suffered an ACL injury. He missed the entire 2021-22 season as he rehabbed from that injury. Murray returned to the court during the preseason, but he was held out of the Nuggets' final three games just as a precaution.
Jokic is the NBA's reigning MVP having won the award in back-to-back seasons. Last season was the best season of Jokic's career numbers-wise. He averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists in 33.5 minutes per game of play. He shot 58.3 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from 3-point range.
In Murray's last fully healthy season during 2019-20, he put up 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 34.6 from distance. He exploded though in the bubble that year to the tune of 26.5 points, 6.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game. He shot 50.5 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from 3-land.
The Nuggets put together a solid roster they hope will be able to compete with the elite teams in the Western Conference. In order to do so, however, they will need the health of their two stars, along with Michael Porter Jr.
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