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 ):

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 . 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 bull (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, 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 s . 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 Re 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

• Export Data
  
  
  • Modify, Export & Share Table
  • Embed this Table
  • Get as Excel Workbook
  • Get table as CSV (for Excel)
  • Get Link to Table
  • About Sharing Tools
  • Video: SR Sharing Tools & How-to
  • Video: Stats Table Tips & Tricks
  
  
  
• 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	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	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	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	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.