Jamal Murray Expected to Play for Nuggets in Game 5

UPDATE: ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Jamal Murray is expected to play against the Lakers.

Jamal Murray is questionable to play Game 5 of the Lakers vs Nuggets after he was a surprise addition to the injury report after Game 4. Murray is dealing with a calf strain and there has been much speculation on whether he can play effectively if at all if he isn't 100%. Backup point guard Reggie Jackson is also on the injury report but is listed as probable with a ankle sprain.

The Lakers are in must-win mode after finally getting over the hump against the Nuggets who rattled off 11 wins in a row against the Lakers before the Game 4 win. The Lakers have dominated the first half of every game in this series but have repeatedly blown leads in the second half.

Murray, who hit the game-winner jumper in Game 2, has struggled in the first half of games during this series but caught fire in the fourth quarter. He's averaging 8.8 points on 31% shooting in the first half and 7.8 points on 44.8% shooting in the fourth quarter through four games.

The Nuggets are at home with a 3-1 lead over the Lakers entering Game 5 and opened as 7.5-point favorites. The spread has moved in the Lakers' direction over the course of the day with the spread down to 6.5 at the time of writing.

If Murray can't go, that line and series price could move towards L.A. even more. The Nuggets have -3000 odds to win the series, including -290 odds to close the series out Monday night in Game 5, +550 odds the close the series out in Game 6, and +750 odds to win the series in seven games.