A lot of avid basketball fans expected the San Antonio Spurs to just cruise along the regular season and miss the playoffs like they did last year. Rightfully so, because DeMar DeRozan can’t be the lone star to carry his team consisting of young and unproven players. And with the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge, it only makes sense for the Spurs to lay low in a conference loaded with powerhouse franchises.
Clearly, San Antonio doesn’t believe in the concept of tanking at all. Instead, they’re pushing themselves to nab a spot in the postseason by stringing together a 31-29 record, the ninth-best in the Western Conference. The Spurs boast a 111.4 defensive rating, the 11th-best in the league, while their 111 offensive rating is in 19th place. They also have a 51.7% win/loss rating, which places them 14th among the 30 teams in the NBA.
As you can see from the numbers above, the Spurs are no push-overs, especially given their lack of All-Star talent on their roster. What they make up for that lack is a culture that can squeeze every last ounce of talent from their lineup. The main beneficiary of this trend is Dejounte Murray. We take a look below at the reasons why Dejounte Murray is about to burst out onto the scene and how his card value will factor into his impending leap.
The San Antonio Spurs’ youth movement
Whether you like it or not, the Spurs you see now is far from the team you’ve gotten used to in the early 2000s and 2010s. Gone are the days when you’d see the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Kawhi Leonard, pushing San Antonio to compete year after year.
In their place is a roster full of young players who undoubtedly possess sufficient talent but lack the experience needed to contend in the Western Conference. Murray, as it can be seen, is at the forefront of San Antonio’s youth movement this season.
Murray, drafted by the Spurs in 2016 with the 29th pick, is the oldest and most talented amongst the team’s young prospects, which includes Derrick White, Lonnie Walker IV, and Keldon Johnson. This is clearly seen with how he separates himself from the pack when it comes to minutes (31.8), win shares (3.2), and usage rate (23.3). These numbers indicate that Murray is way ahead of his young peers while falling behind DeRozan, the Spurs’ top player.
In the event DeRozan leaves in free agency or is traded before the deadline, Murray will be the next man to be called up. If this happens, you can expect his minutes, usage rate, and per-game averages to jump.
Murray’s more prominent role in the Spurs’ offense
Take a look at Murray’s stats and you’ll see he’s averaging 14.4 field goal attempts per game. In contrast, DeRozan averages 14 attempts while Aldridge, during his final season in San Antonio, had 11.8. This means Murray is slowly becoming the Spurs’ focal point when it comes to their offense.
Dejounte Murray has been quietly putting up consistent numbers much like Tim Duncan 👊 pic.twitter.com/SLKYk9oYc1
— Spurs Nation (@SpursNationCP) April 27, 2021
Of course, this remains to be seen with all of the developments occurring before the regular season ends soon. Aldridge is now gone from San Antonio while DeRozan will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. If the latter leaves or is traded in the offseason, Murray’s ascension as the Spurs’ top guy is all but guaranteed. This will boost his card prices, especially if his stats go up as well.
The evolution of Murray’s overall game
Murray entered the league during the 2016-17 season as a lanky 6’5” point guard with averages of 3.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. From then on, he would increase his numbers with each season he plays for the Spurs. The lone exception is when Murray missed the 2018-19 season due to a torn ACL injury.
Last year, Murray posted an all-around improvement in his game by tallying 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.7 steals in 25.6 minutes per contest. This season, he has taken another leap by averaging 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.6 steals.
One of the most evident signs of Murray’s development is his three-point shot. He’s taking 3.1 attempts from beyond the arc this year, as compared to last season’s 1.7, with an overall success rate of 33% While that rating is below league standard, it shows that Murray is willing to evolve his game by taking more three-pointers. As a result, the Spurs young guard is doing his best to truly become a scoring threat from all three levels of the court.
The reasons stated above are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Murray’s potential as San Antonio’s point guard of the future. Before that happens, it’s best to buy graded Dejounte Murray Prizm rookie cards, which are currently valued at $200, while no one is paying that much attention to him. Doing so will give you the ideal situation to buy low on Murray and sell high on him down the line.
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