A sleepless night for George Karl after Jamal Murray injury
Apr 13, 2021, 3:33 PM
In the aftermath of what’s now confirmed to be a season-ending knee injury to Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, former head coach George Karl told Sandy Clough on Tuesday he couldn’t sleep.
Nearly eight years to the day earlier, in almost the same spot on the court — “across from the bench” — Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament against the Dallas Mavericks, suffering the same fate as Murray.
“It scared me how much it reminded me of the Gallo injury,” Karl said.
What fate heads the Nuggets way right now is unknown, as Murray is out indefinitely with the torn left ACL.
But down the stretch in 2013, Denver seemingly managed to overcome the loss of Gallinari, winning five of their next six for a 57-win season — the most wins of Karl’s tenure in the Mile High City.
“You’re going into an optimistic playoff run of a team that had a hell of a year, overachieved. … And Gallo was a foundation of that team,” Karl said.
Six games later, the newly forming Golden State Warrior super team knocked the Nuggets out in the first round of the NBA playoffs … and Karl out of Denver.
“I was just thinking about how the window of opportunity in a 57-win season, that window closed within two months,” Karl said. “And the organization, for whatever reason, went a different way and changed.”
How the Nuggets manage to weather the storm without Murray, Karl told “Schlereth & Evans,” might come down to its newest player — Aaron Gordon.
“They haven’t found Aaron Gordon in their offense,” Karl said. “I think we like Aaron Gordon because he’s a defensive-minded guy. He’s no nonsense. He gives them another athlete on the floor.”
Some role players in the backcourt, like Facundo Campazzo and Monte Morris, will have an opportunity along with Gordon, Karl said.
But it’s a difficult task replacing “20 points and seven, eight assists” in a lineup.
“I think they’re going to be OK in holding their position, but the expectations of winning a championship … I think they’ve got to be dropped a lot,” Karl said.
