it had been 18 months since Murray had ruptured the cruciate ligament in his knee by the time the new season began. In the context of modern sports, this constitutes an exceptionally long time of rehabilitation. At the close of the last campaign, there were rumblings that Murray would be making his way back into the starting lineup. To ensure that he would receive some game action, Malone even offered to let him play in the meaningless season finale for the Los Angeles Lakers.