It got you to start this thread, which is also inane.
I think so. Gay is older, is fairly smart in understanding that as a closer he is more important than having his name called on the PA to start. Provides good vet leadership and some of the whole workman role. Todays Rudy Gay seems to be a much wiser man than the Sacramento Gay. I think the Achilles injury caused him to seriously review himself and he's a better person for that mentally and seems to be getting pretty close to back physically.
It got you to start this thread, which is also inane.
I dont recall call him being a good finisher. I seem to remember him pulling up with floaters rather than attacking and finishing
Murray's a 29th pick with very little NBA experience, and so to already be an elite rebounder and a good defender is a pretty nice accomplishment. If it pans out that he's a back up guard with certain skills and certain shortcomings (shooting, handles), it's not going to be too shocking, but the Spurs have shown time & time again that they're better at developing players than most teams... If his 3 point shot comes around, he can be deadly. If not, he's a defensive minded guy to put in with shooters like Bertans and Mills. Worse case scenario, he's a piece in a trade-- in which case his accolade of "second team all NBA defense" can only help. The one thing the Spurs are better at than probably every other team is patience. And here they are, again, in the playoffs after many predictions that they'd miss them, that they should tank, that their run was "over." The much vaunted "Process" of Philadelphia has only produced a team with a slightly better winning percentage in the East than the Spurs currently have. The non-stop shake ups in OKC have produced a team that sits one single game ahead of the Spurs... Pretty impressive for what was clearly a transition year. Give the kid a year healthy to show what he's got.
He's accomplished being a starting point guard on an NBA team, youngest all NBA defensive team member, is a millionaire, and dates really hot girls...
i honestly feel feel like if DeRozan gets a corner 3 like Bruce Bowen then we are championship contenders.
He made All-NBA defensive second team in his first real season of action.. He's been a good teammate and has bought into Pop's system.. Why are you hating on him? Because of him being pussy whipped on instagram? Because Derrick White took his opportunity and made something of it?
I look forward to see what DJ has next season. Caveat is that having missed a season with injury he might not be as improved as he otherwise might have been with a year of further development. He could possibly still be at 17-18 levels where he needed to have improved this year. I just hope the injury doesn’t set him back like some players who come back and need another season playing before they really return to their old selves. Rudy is an example as he was good but not as he has been this season. There’s many other examples out there. Still expect he can contribute specially when the bench needs a pick me up on D very often.
I do think if he can’t shoot he’s going to be difficult to play with Derozan particularly. Murray needs a good season next year. I doubt White is going to see himself benched or affected by Murray returning. He has been key for the team. I also think Murray and White could play together fine it’s when you add Demar to that equation that it becomes a ?
Still it’s all an interesting puzzle for next year.
On a team with Chip ing Engelland as a shooting coach. You should turn in your Spurs fan card. This is the worst take I've read in a while. Kawhi Leonard was a 25% 3 point shooter in college.
Last year Murray took 41% of his shots from inside 3 feet, and shot .586 on them. That's very comparable to a second-year Dwayne Wade, who took 44% of his shots from close, and shot .587 on them. I don't know what it would take in your world for a guard, especially a young guard, to be a good finisher. But that' pretty damn convincing to most people.
And just for the record, that floater is one of the best tools available to a slashing guard. Nobody is good enough to get all the way to the rim against NBA defenders consistently, if they know it's coming. When defenders have to respect the floater, it gets the guard more clean trips to the rim. Wade, Westbrook, Harden - they all started taking fewer shots from 0-3 feet after being in the league a few years, but their FG% on those 0-3 foot shots all went up. That's because they quite trying to force their way to the rim every time.
Agreed.
Defensively, Murray on point guards, White on the best wing and DeRozan on the other wing should be a huge improvement over this year's defense. If DeRozan can keep playing the D he's played the last couple weeks, the Spurs could become a top ten -- or even top five -- defensive team overnight.
While separating White and Murray makes some sense (White could play a Manu role, in theory, just as Murray's defense and rebounding would be a big help for the bench unit), the improved defense you'd get playing them together is too tantalizing to ignore. And on defense, DeRozan fits pretty well next to them. He's deceptively big and has rebounded really well, so in today's NBA he's more of a 3 than a 2, anyways.
Offense, obviously, will be the issue. If DeRozan and Murray are both non-threats from three (which will likely be the case, if we're putting odds on it), the spacing will be iffy. Add Poeltl to the mix and things would really get muddy.
That said, the plan before Murray got hurt was for the starters to be an ultra fast paced unit. With three ballhandlers in Murray, White and DeRozan and mobile bigs in Aldridge and Poeltl, the starters could hypothetically be a really good running fivesome that plays bully-ball in halfcourt sets. It could also make it more difficult for defenses to adjust to the lethal shooters that should stack the bench (Bertans, Belinelli, Forbes, Mills, probably Gay).
Fun to think about and should be really interesting. Overall, having an elite defensive guard waiting on the sidelines is not a bad thing ... even though it's not a seamless fit on paper. No need to fret, tbh.
Can't believe a pointless thread about a guy who can't play to defend himself yet is getting attention.
He probably should've been an all star. He struggled at the wrong time, but he could've been in there over Klay
D.White's emergence as a really good player has some fans on edge about how his playing time will be affected by Murray returning from his injury. Personally, I wish some of Forbes, Mills and Marco minutes could be reduced. There's times Forbes really gets on my nerves, as do the other two, but their shooting is no doubt the reason they get minutes, Pop tolerates some bad defense at times, and sometimes even overplays one or another. I really wish either of Murray or Demar could start shooting a 3 to get Forbes minutes out of the starting lineup, but Pop's love for the little shooter is great and there's definitely times I will still feel like he gets over played (or Mills or Marco). Regardless it's a good problem to have to have a healthy Murray to push everyone else to up their game. D.White might not be the best scorer on the team, but he's the most well rounded guard and you usually want those guys starting to play the most minutes that they can.
I am cautious on Murray. I was really, really excited about his improvements this season, then really bummed that he got injured... and now I am just hoping he's not regressing next year. It seems like he's working really hard to get back and he looks in phenomenal physical shape when I have seen pictures of him, but many players struggle returning to prior levels the next season right out of an injury... It's not a 100% occurrence, luckily, but it happens enough that I am just on a wait and see how he does. Wishing the best though, and don't see his return as a problem, rather hopefully pushing everyone else (and himself).
OP is clearly a got.
The alleged subject is a non-issue.
You people are so sensitive. I never said DJ insta was bad. In fact, he had the potential to be pretty good, and even more than a role player. All I said is he is unproven and hasn’t accomplished nearly enough to deserve the kind of praise he was given to start the season. Sure his physical gifts give him above average defensive capability but he is offensively atrocious other than his sheer athleticism. He hasn’t led the Spurs deep into the playoffs. Unlike White, he hasn’t averaged an entire season of good offensive stats. White is legitimately very good and has arguably become the team’s second or third best player, so that leaves mediagram out in the cold unless he can at the very least, meet the lofty expectations everyone (including himself and his instagirl) heaped on him as some kind of generational but raw, developing talent. We also have no idea how good he’ll be after injury. Could have a permanent negative impact causing him to be relegated to spot minutes over a shortened career. The answer is clear. He has a lot to prove , and if he fails which seems likely, he’ll be riding the pine or traded. I do like the at ude but talk is cheap when you’re not that great of a player.
Talk is also cheap when you're not that great of a poster.
I remember in the preseason before the injury is that Murray is the one who started and not white..
The defensive potential between a duo of white and Murray is sky high. They must be allowed to play together for a while before we can even start mentioning anything about 1 player not being able to play with the other.
Seeing how terrible we have been defensively this season, the dumbest thing would be to ignore the 22yr old 2nd team all nba defender that you have in your back pocket just because your unsure of how he will fit with the current.
White is awesome but murrays defense if pretty good. I'm sure the spurs will find a way to make them work offensively.
Agree. 87% of the ppl on here should just shut up.
Oh, it's you.
Exactly.. and with his leg injury what the else is he gonna be working on with this unexpected year off? He was already showing signs of an improved long range jumper prior to the injury, there's gonna be a lot of "it's either white or murray" thinkers here eating next season
Cause history has shown that once the Spurs have two,beyond a shadow of a doubt,good guards co existing in the back court,everybody here stops taking sides and just enjoy the basketball?
He should learn spanish so he can have fans hanging on his sack even if he is a total scrub next year
Didnt yall already have all this talk in the thread that was meant for keeping up with his injury? So lifeless gotta repeat it all again just to not come to any conclusions again cause we wont kno crap till next year
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