Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray laughed off a question about the noise surrounding his team’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night.
Jamal Murray on if he cares that it’s the Lakers on Tuesday and if he’s paid attention to any of the noise around it:
“No…I just go play basketball and have fun” pic.twitter.com/PPl9e9qXbs
— Katy Winge (@katywinge) October 22, 2023
It appears that Murray isn’t hung up on facing the team that the Nuggets beat in the Western Conference Finals last season.
It’s also possible that the Nuggets guard doesn’t want to give the Lakers any bulletin board material ahead of Tuesday’s opener.
The Lakers and Nuggets have had a lot of back and forth this offseason, with Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope recently commenting on Denver sweeping Los Angeles.
Lakers center Anthony Davis is looking for revenge against the Nuggets this season, which is understandable since the team ended the Lakers’ 2022-23 season. Not only that, but Nuggets head coach Michael Malone clapped back at the Lakers for talking about Denver during their media day.
There appears to be a little rivalry building between the two teams after last season’s playoff series, which should make for an interesting matchup on Tuesday night.
Murray was instrumental in Denver’s NBA championship run last season. After missing the entire 2021-22 season due to a torn ACL, Murray came back and played at a high level – especially in the postseason – for Denver.
During the playoffs, Murray appeared in 20 games, averaging 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 39.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Denver was dominant from the Western Conference Finals on, needing just four games to dispose of the Lakers before beating the Miami Heat in five games in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers are hoping to dethrone Denver in the Western Conference this season, starting with a win on opening night.
Los Angeles upgraded its roster this offseason, adding players like big man Christian Wood, forward Taurean Prince, guard Gabe Vincent, wing Cam Reddish and big man Jaxson Hayes.
The team has a ton of depth, and it is hoping that it can use that to sustain a high level of play throughout the grind of an 82-game season.
The Lakers and Nuggets are scheduled to play at 4:30 p.m. PST on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
