Jamal Murray injury update: Nuggets guard enters concussion protocol after leaving game against Timberwolves

Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray suffered a concussion in the team's 119-116 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. It's too early to speculate on a timeline, but depending on how long it takes him to go through the concussion protocol, he could be in for a break.

Early in the third quarter, Murray cut to the basket after a screen from Nikola Jokic and then rolled up to the free throw line to set up a screen for Aaron Gordon. However, before Murray could assert himself, he was pushed by Anthony Edwards, causing him to topple forward. As a result, when Julius Randle tried to get through the screen, he hit Murray's head instead of his chest.

Murray immediately doubled over and started rubbing his head. He stayed in briefly, but was then taken out of the game and sent to the locker room, from where he did not return.

Again, it is too early to say how many games, if any, Murray will miss due to this incident. However, the impact and initial reaction certainly didn't look good, and the Nuggets play again on Saturday against the Utah Jazz for the second night in a row.

This injury marks another difficult start to the season for Murray, who didn't look his usual self in last season's playoffs or at the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this summer when he competed for Canada.

He entered Friday averaging 19 points, five rebounds and five assists on a 38% field goal percentage in the Nuggets' first four games. In the loss to the Timberwolves, he had just six points, two rebounds and three assists on seven shots in 22 minutes.

Murray's poor play is a big reason the Nuggets are off to a 2-3 start this season and have had to overcome both the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors in overtime to get their two wins.

There are real concerns about whether Murray can still be an elite No. 2 option next to Jokic, but he is at least someone opponents need to respect. The same can't be said for most of the Nuggets' supporting cast, who really struggled.

Entering Friday, the Nuggets' bench was averaging just 22.5 points per game, ranking 28th in the league. After losing a number of key players in recent years, Denver has tried to assemble a bench with a combination of veterans (Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric) and young players (Peyton Watson, Hunter Tyson, Julian Strawther), but it's easy not successful. It didn't work.

Murray potentially being forced to miss significant time would pose a major problem for the Nuggets, who are already off the pace in a crowded Western Conference.