Anthony Edwards and Co.’s Dominance Caused Frustration in Nuggets Rank Which Led to Jamal Murray’s ‘Heatpad’ Situation, Per Shams Charania

On Monday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves wreaked havoc against the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets, handing them an embarrassing 106-80 Game 2 loss. Amidst the possibilities of a possible elimination, tensions seemed to be rising at the Nuggets bench, with Jamal Murray‘s frustration seemingly steaming over the top.

During the second quarter of the play, Murray could be seen throwing a heating pad while Anthony Edwards and Co. were on the offense. The object landed on the floor near the basket, risking injury to several nearby players. After the game, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch condemned this act as “inexcusable” and “dangerous”.

The match officials could not hand Murray a technical foul, at the moment, as they failed to notice the incident. NBA Insider Shams Charania believes that Murray’s throwing off the heat pad might have resulted from the frustration in his team’s ranks. Explaining the rationale behind his actions on the ‘Run It Back’, Charania said,

“To me it just shows the frustration throughout that Denver roster, throughout the coaching staff…This is something the league will have to look at.” 

It was obvious that frustrations were boiling over for the Mile High City. The roster and the coaching staff were seemingly irritated with the no-calls and missed calls in this 80-106 meltdown. Furthermore, losing a game by a margin of 26 points, in a playoff series, definitely adds more to the pressure in such situations.

Nevertheless, even moments of pressure do not sometimes justify such actions on the floor. Almost all of the NBA fraternity believes Jamal Murray needs to be punished for his actions. However, we are yet to see the severity of the league on the Canadian star during a crucial round of the postseason.

Will Jamal Murray get suspended for his actions?

In his eight-year NBA career, Jamal Murray has never faced any suspension. However, as per senior basketball writer Marc Stein, the NBA is reviewing Murray’s actions during Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

If we were to look at the history of similar offenses, the NBA had only resorted to fining or ejecting the players. The most notable example is Stephen Curry, who has been fined $25,000 multiple times for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands during games. Furthermore, Miami Heat’s Dewayne Dedmon was once ejected for throwing a massage gun onto the court. However, he didn’t have to miss any additional game time due to a suspension.

If the Nuggets were to play without Murray for Game 3, it would mean the series has already slipped out of their hands. As Denver hopes to recover from the 0-2 hole, losing a starter is something the team cannot afford. However, for now, it seems unlikely that Murray will be suspended for this incident.