Despite a scoreless stint against the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich still expects his young point guard Dejounte Murray to become a dangerous player in the future. Per Jeff Garcia of News 4 San Antonio, Popovich said Murray should learn about pick-and-rolls and work on his shots. The veteran coach said the young point guard will emerge as a dangerous player if he learns to master these skills. As of now, Popovich is satisfied with Murray’s rebounding and defense. In the first three games of the regular season, Murray averaged 13 points, 4.6 assists, 9.6 boards, and made 59 percent of his shots.
In their win over the Toronto Raptors, Murray grabbed 14 boards, one rebound shy of tying the team record in a single game by a guard. Popovich made Murray the starting point guard until veteran playmaker Tony Parker returns from a quad injury.
Murray will be an All-Star
Earlier, Manu Ginobili expressed his belief that Murray will be an All-Star someday. Per Melissa Rohlin of the San Antonio Express-News, Ginobili said he’s very optimistic about Murray’s future, calling the point guard a very talented kid. However, Ginobili said Murray’s future will depend on how he improves his game now or in the next five years. Last season, Murray averaged 3.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 8.5 minutes per game.
Murray stepped up his game after Parker went down with an injury in their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Houston Rockets, averaging 5.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 turnovers in 15.3 minutes per game.
Spurs suffer first loss of season
Evan Fournier scored 25 points while the Orlando Magic capitalized on the Spurs’ bad shooting night en route to a 114-87 win Friday.
Former Spurs reserve Jonathon Simmons scored 17 points off the bench, Aaron Gordon added 16 points, and Nikola Vicevic had 15 for the Magic, who improved to 4-1. The Magic made 48-of-84 attempts from the floor for a whopping 57.1 percent, including 11-of-23 from beyond the arc.
LaMarcus Aldridge tallied a double-double for the Spurs with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Pau Gasol and Patty Mills added 12 points each as the Spurs dropped to 4-1.
The Spurs shot a woeful 30-of-89 from the field for 33.7 percent and 4-of-24 from three-point range for 16.7 percent. The Spurs played without Kawhi Leonard, Parker, and backup big man Joffrey Lauvergne. Key reserve Rudy Gay scored just two points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field.
