How will Dejounte Murray improve in 21-22? Or ... will he?

[objective]

Murray, at least offensively, has more or less improved every year.

Now without DeRozan or Aldridge soaking up usage, can Dejounte 'make the leap'? Or is he basically at the top of his game and that's what he is?

How would you expect him to improve next season?

Will he be the man? Will he be pulling a lot more off the dribble threes? Will he attack the rim more? Will he force his will?

Or just post cryptic tweets every other week, interspersed with bi-annual removal of Spurs labels from his bio?

Some context:

20-21: career highs per 100 possessions in
PER 16.5
Usage (23.4, actually his rookie year was 0.1 higher but a lot of that was garbage time)
FG attempts - 22.1
3pt attempts - 4.5
Assists - 8.2
Career low in TOs per 100 - 2.7

[SAGirl]

Interesting question. Don’t have a magic ball but I think playmaking is an area where he needs to continue to progress and he has made strides from when he came in, but to be an elite PG, that’s something that needs to continue an upward trend. 3 pt shot needs improvement as well.

I wouldn’t bet against him bc he’s hungry and has improved every season but I expect him to be inconsistent. Some great games with duds in between. I think he’ll have hot streaks where he looks like an all,star with many others where he’s an ineffective player. Hope to be wrong but I am keeping reasonable expectations.

It will be great if he maintains current level production with higher usage for example. I definitely think he has potential to burst into the scene and lift the team if his 3 pt shot is better.

[Seventyniner]

iirc Number Two added a key part to his game every summer. Murray did a great job of fixing his turnover woes this past season, becoming a decent volume and percentage shooter from three is the next big step to take.

[SAGirl]

iirc Number Two added a key part to his game every summer. Murray did a great job of fixing his turnover woes this past season, becoming a decent volume and percentage shooter from three is the next big step to take.
I like this and agree.

[Dejounte]

A lot of folks like to focus on result, and not progress.

Result:

-Dejounte has not led the team to the playoffs
-Dejounte has not made an all-star game
-Dejounte is not recognized in mainstream media
-Dejounte is not scoring in the 20's
-Dejounte is not a modern 3-point shooter

What's missing from the result is usually context. You look underneath all that, and you find progress (basically what was mentioned by Seventyniner (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=17327) ):

Progress:

-Dejounte has improved his ball handling security
-Dejounte has become more efficient around the rim
-Dejounte has improved his mid-range shooting
-Dejounte has improved his defense as a point-of-attack defender

You don't bet against players who make leaps in development.

With that said, I'm not saying he's going to be a star. I don't know that. What I am saying, is he could outplay his contract (if he isn't already).

If he doesn't show signs of improvement this coming year, then I'm more than willing to find a better option. If he does, and he shows he's an above average starter, then keep him. You don't find many players who aren't on a max contract who are also leaders on their team. There is great value in leadership.

[buttsR4rebounding]

I believe Murray will increase his 3 pt attempts and his %. With the 3 pt shooters on the team now his assists will go up as well.

[SpurSpike]

Just dawned on me that Dejounte is the longest tenured Spur now isn't he? I'm sure he looks at himself as the leader and soul of this team. He's improved each year so I expect him to come in this year even better.

You can see he wants to be THE MAN just don't know if he has the ability.

[KobesAchilles]

Nah he won’t improve. His stats will improve bc he will be taking way more shots. But the dude is gonna do high pick n roll and shoot a midrange jumper. He isn’t a shooter and bc of that it messes with his head. He will probably start off the season well from 3, I expect him to anyways, but then go through a slump that every player goes through, not just him. The difference is that the slump will cause him to stop attempting 3s and go back to what he is comfortable with which is midrange

Also his play making has always been shit. I am impressed with his turnover improvement but I feel he is going to average a lot more TOs bc it’s unreasonable to expect he doesn’t and also he will be the focal point of the defense and they will double team him. It’s why Pop got all these shooters bc he wants it to be as easy a read as possible for DJ. See a double team and pass it to a shooter, they should be everywhere on the floor.

[mookie2001]

I think he'll improve, he's improved every year anyway, last year he cut down on the long flailing floaters and blowing by everyone and then having no plan, losing the ball and throwing up some bullshit (Lonnie stuff). at times his midrange is damn near automatic. But his open three % is about 20% let's face it it's a lost cause, plus side is his contesteds are about 40% though

his best attribute is not having 2 broken toes, longterm covid19 and a season ending ankle injury like some of the other guys.

He better start getting to the line more. And stop wasting the first quarter trying to warm up and get other guys involved and appease pop. The first Q starts, shit it's time to get 8 pts off top and let the refs know he's the main man, he's gonna score 20 pts, he's going to the rim, he's going to the line and he's not gonna stop. They'll be no LeTouches and no Deprezon that's good for his style overall


Nothing to lose though what's gonna happen either we miss the playoffs or he gets moved to off guard again and he can focus on his own offense.

[RC_Drunkford]

3-point shooting is what he has to improve and I have no doubts that he will shoot the 3 much better this year. That's the main focus. Probably will have even better handles and finishes around the rim, but the 3-ball is where it's at

[emanueldavidginobili]

He's going to be an animal this season imo. He's finally at the helm lets see how he does.

[ducks]

Be more confident Other vets are gone
No short leach so far this year

[BackHome]

Interesting question. Don’t have a magic ball but I think playmaking is an area where he needs to continue to progress and he has made strides from when he came in, but to be an elite PG, that’s something that needs to continue an upward trend. 3 pt shot needs improvement as well.

I wouldn’t bet against him bc he’s hungry and has improved every season but I expect him to be inconsistent. Some great games with duds in between. I think he’ll have hot streaks where he looks like an all,star with many others where he’s an ineffective player. Hope to be wrong but I am keeping reasonable expectations.

It will be great if he maintains current level production with higher usage for example. I definitely think he has potential to burst into the scene and lift the team if his 3 pt shot is better.

It is going to be a learning experience and I agree he will look good and then look like a dud - The big key for me is how he comes back from those duds he play well or does he go into a shell. Also another thing I will be looking for is how he grows as a leader then season they will be loosing a lot of games I think he needs to keep the team loose don’t let the team get to down and don’t freak out on players when they loose or do something stupid - Slow and steady

[MultiTroll]

Will improve as he has done every season.
He's been forced to play with an undersized midget traffic cone his entire career along with being forced out of his natural position which is a 2 and short 3 in small ball.

Will Coach Retard force him to play substantial minutes with Pet Bryn Bryn?
If so don't look at DJ for blame.

[SAGirl]

Does anyone think he’ll draw more fouls? Bc his numbers are incredibly similar to Russell Westbrook at the same age. Of course Westbrook was a freak of nature and incredibly strong at that age but their lack of shooting touch is similar. However Westbrook drew fouls whenever he needed to.
Per 36 Minutes

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Glossary





Rk
Player
Season
Age
G
GS
MP
FG
FGA
FG%
3P
3PA
3P%
2P
2PA
2P%
FT
FTA
FT%
ORB
DRB
TRB
AST
STL
BLK
TOV
PF
PTS


1
Dejounte Murray (https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/murrade01.html)
2020-21
24
67
67
2139
7.4
16.4
.453
1.1
3.3
.317
6.4
13.0
.488
1.8
2.3
.791
1.0
7.0
8.0
6.1
1.7
0.1
2.0
2.3
17.7


2
Russell Westbrook (https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westbru01.html)
2012-13
24
82
82
2861
8.5
19.3
.438
1.2
3.8
.323
7.2
15.5
.466
5.8
7.2
.800
1.4
4.0
5.4
7.6
1.8
0.3
3.4
2.4
23.9

[ducks]

He will improve more if pop stays overseas since he hates the USA

[MultiTroll]

Does anyone think he’ll draw more fouls? Bc his numbers are incredibly similar to Russell Westbrook at the same age. Of course Westbrook was a freak of nature and incredibly strong at that age but their lack of shooting touch is similar. However Westbrook drew fouls whenever he needed to.
Per 36 Minutes




Rk
Player
Season
Age
G
GS
MP
FG
FGA
FG%
3P
3PA
3P%
2P
2PA
2P%
FT
FTA
FT%
ORB
DRB
TRB
AST
STL
BLK
TOV
PF
PTS


1
Dejounte Murray (https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/murrade01.html)
2020-21
24
67
67
2139
7.4
16.4
.453
1.1
3.3
.317
6.4
13.0
.488
1.8
2.3
.791
1.0
7.0
8.0
6.1
1.7
0.1
2.0
2.3
17.7


2
Russell Westbrook (https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westbru01.html)
2012-13
24
82
82
2861
8.5
19.3
.438
1.2
3.8
.323
7.2
15.5
.466
5.8
7.2
.800
1.4
4.0
5.4
7.6
1.8
0.3
3.4
2.4
23.9



Nicely done.
Westchuck got plenty of complete b.s. calls so factor that in to the FT discrepency.

[Chinook]

Don't really think Murray needed folks to leave to give him touches. He was second on the team in that regard. Nothing about how he played made me think "If only this guy dominated the ball even more". With that in mind, I'd want to see DJM improve his catch-and-shoot game. I don't want off-dribble threes to be the evolution of his game. I want him to be an off-ball player, but I think he'll only pay lip service to that and will instead work on his off-dribble threes. That would make him a better PnR threat, which will help him and teammates some. I fully expect DJM to move closer to his goal of star play and not toward leveraging his game in the best way to help a team.

[Spursfanfromafar]

You folks have listed most or all points of improvement.. the one thing I would love for DjM is to work out some on court chemistry with White like Parker and Ginobili did. White is the better shooter and can try being the Ginobili to DjM's Parker.

The Spurs are a fantastic defensive team when these two are on the court with Poeltl. If Dejounte can find ways to be efficient off ball - cut/slash and finish ( he needs to add a floater), catch and shoot (be more accurate in set feet three pointers) and be involved in zipper cut plays like Parker did, while White handles the ball, he will make himself way more valuable than he is already.

The bottom-line is that White and Murray must find ways to coexist and aid the offense. Their defensive potential is sky high.

[acoelho1]

Murray has made huge strides given how much of a project he was coming into the league. I want to continue to see growth in finishing at the rim, which we saw a stark improvement last year. He also needs to take and make more 3's at a higher percentage. I fully expect this to occur given his form looks good but needs to continue to work on his balance and footwork. As I said in another post, this year will tell us a lot about our young nucleus and particularly Murray who as long as he keeps working, I think he can reach that all star level. He's already an elite defender and for me, it's a make or break year for Murray in terms of what he is as player and his ceiling potentially.

[offset formation]

he'll continue getting better because he has the drive to be great and do it in a Spurs uni. I do not understand the willingness of so many on this forum to be done with him in a trade. in case anyone wasn't paying attention, Tim Tony Manu and Patty don't grow on trees. we have another spurs lifer and we should treasure that.

dude just wants to be loved.

[spurraider21]

so according to this thread he needs to improve on his playmaking, shooting, handling, and defense

[John B]

He will improve because he’s hungry and he feels it is upon himself to carry the team. Kawhi was not a natural scorer when he first started. But he was strong and has brute force to finish strong. DJ needs to get stronger. He needs to earn Free Throws, because they will foul him. He really needs to add muscles to finish strong with contacts. His 3pts shots is iffy. I hope he’s working on that. He needs to mix it up.

Also he likes to gamble a lot to get the steal. I feel it’s stat padding, and a lot of times he gets burned and got behind the play. Stop. Just focus on staying in front of his man. Be a lock-on defender instead, ball stopper.

DJ is a combo guard. Derrick is the more natural facilitator. I think DJ needs to focus more on scoring, get stronger, finish strong, score more. And leave the facilitating to Derrick.

DJ will improve, again because he is hungry. But will it be enough to be the face of the franchise? I have strong doubts. More walk, less talk. And I didn’t like him going against Pop in the huddle. That really turned me off. Be humble, work hard and prove many of us wrong.

[The Truth #6]

It’s great he wants to be a Spurs lifer, yet seemingly can’t handle any change in his role. That’s the core issue.

[JeffDuncan]

so according to this thread he needs to improve on his playmaking, shooting, handling, and defense


Lol. Glad we got it narrowed down.

Last season Murray was better than White at 2pt range. Vastly better than White at rebounding. Better than White for assists. Better than White for ast/turnover ratio. Btw.

Murray mainly needs to improve his 3pt shooting, as much as possible, both for attempts and percentage. Beyond that, it would be helpful if he gets more free throw attempts and a higher ft percentage.

Three pointers, and free throws.

[Trill Clinton]

He will be the undisputed team leader now that the vets are out of the way. I look to see his leadership qualities to become more apparent and for him to become more comfortable being a floor general.

[GreekSpursfan]

He's a big question mark with the higher usage, he might shock us and take a leap or burst in flames. First and foremost he needs to be a consistent terror on the defensive end, be more consistent there, we know he's good but some times he took plays off.
I'm always a defense first guy and as the others said obviously as a pg it's always decision making and outside shot and finish strong at the rim because he did have some trouble finishing strong

[emanueldavidginobili]

He was absolutely terrible in summer league as a rookie, he showed flashes of promise but he was so raw and this kid has continuously improved his game each year, he missed an entire season and they always say the next year after the injury you're still not 100% until the second year after the injury. This season will be his second full season in legit game condition since his ACL injury and still is only 24. this was his first season ever averaging over 30 MPG. Strictly PPG since he's been in 3.4, 8.1, 10.9, 15.7. Thats a beautiful trajectory tbh by the time DJ is 27 he's going to be an absolute stud imo. Probably wont be on the Spurs by then though lmao

[MannyIsGod]

As Chinook said, we need to see an improvement on off ball catch and shoot. The big problem with Demar wasn't his mid range game, it was that he was atrocious off the ball and provided absolutely nothing. If Murray can be a threat off ball, it really helps this team work more cohesively on the offensive end.

[Mugen]

:lol Of course Demar leaving will absolutely pay dividends for DWhite/DJ/Lonnie tbh. The major concern is whether that fuck Bryn being back will screw things up. With the old man at the helm, that's definitely a real worry.

[Dex]

Better be shooting like 1000 threes a day. That would elevate him from "good role player" to possible All-Star level.

Also needs to be running some fast break drills and realize there are other options than "run fast and attack the basket yourself"

[The Truth #6]

Lets hope Primo stays healthy, shows passing promise that the coaches are salivating over, and pushes DJM to improve. Primo may only be on the Toros this year, I get that, but I think the pressure to adapt will have to be from competition because the coaches haven’t found a way to get DJM to play as a true floor general. Yes, he HAS made progress and maybe it will be a slow improvement. But I don’t see him making that his #1 priority, but I’m happy to be proven wrong.

[John B]

3pt percentage
FT attempts, finishing strong with contact
less gamble on getting steals, but stronger body to hold position

[poopbox]

He has a modern nba team around him now so I expect most improved player level of production from him this year.

Dejounte's main problem has always been this roster. As it gets modernized he will get better. Not sure he will ever make an all star game but he has all star potential.

[SpursDynasty85]

He is a scoring guard. When Primo is ready, Murray will be our Jamaal Crawford.

[MultiTroll]

As Chinook said, we need to see an improvement on off ball catch and shoot. The big problem with Demar wasn't his mid range game, it was that he was atrocious off the ball and provided absolutely nothing. If Murray can be a threat off ball, it really helps this team work more cohesively on the offensive end.
Fabulous.
Where are these "off ball" passes going to come from?
Because the last 4 years coach Numb Nutts has had him on the floor with Patty or Bryn (or both!) often at the same time. Other shitty passers like LMA.
He's had to be forced into point guard on O while covering for both cones on D. Whomever was guarding one of the cones could simply cheat over oh help D, thus DJM rarely got to break a few steps and get to a good catch n shoot space.

DJ is fabulous in transition when paired with other fabulous transition players, ie DWhite and KJ.
More catch n shoot from competent passers + more fast break transition possessions......
Ya, I'm all for that.

[Sugus]

I'll mention an area where I'd really like to see improvement that hasn't been mentioned yet: I want to see him get better at getting the ball to his teammates in "their spots". His lacking in this area was, for example, painfully obvious when he played with LMA, where he struggled to even make the most basic non-telegraphed entry pass to him on the post for LMA's patented ISO jumper move. He's got to learn and recognize his teammates' tendencies and where they're most effective, in order to plan ahead and get them the ball so they can get their shots off with as little effort and time spent as possible.

Two examples that come to mind and will happen a lot next season are White's perimeter shooting and Keldon's driving game. Last season, in the little time White played (I also thought this during the Bubble, but that was kind of long ago now), I thought he was spending too much effort dribbling and trying to get himself open to shoot 3's the team sorely needed. It's not very time-and-energy efficient for White to do all that work, only to end up with a half-contested look, when it should be DJ, as the nominal PG, leveraging his driving gravity into getting White open (and actually passing him the ball when he is!) and getting him looks. For Keldon it's the same - I want to see less Keldon driving teeth-first into the defense (which is not to say I want to see less Keldon ball-handling; he should just be looking to create more from the perimeter next season IMO), and more Keldon finding his spots, getting position on the high or low post for example, and then receiving passes by DJ for the easy scores. Keldon can score over practically anyone, we've seen this, but his body will thank him a lot in the long run if he's not bumping and driving into 3 players every single time.

All the areas everyone's mentioned for him to get better are good and fair, but I'm specifically interested in this one because it requires both 1. Better IQ and anticipation skills from Murray, and 2. A more assertive attitude and actual "PG Role" by DJ in terms of feeling that he's the one that gets his teammates going. Last season, he far too often took to himself the personal task of scoring, to much success on his midrange pullups, but that's not a shot that gets the team going - only himself. I don't dislike those shots, but I want to see him leverage that scoring threat into opportunities for his teammates more often.

[ismael-robert]

Being Objective and not having access to practice facility I'm going out on a limb n saying who knows. I'll probably know something by late October n get back to u