The other night, after the defeat against Phoenix during which he had accumulated 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Dejounte Murray had been dubbed by the two stars of the Suns.
Chris Paul said he was a “true leader”, capable above all of playing on both sides of the pitch, while Devin Booker emphasized his confidence, higher than ever, especially in attack.
Wednesday night against Oklahoma City, Dejounte Murray simply confirmed the words of his glorious elders, with the 13th triple double of his career, and the 8th this season, up to 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in the 17th victory Spurs this season (for 28 losses).
“Like I say after every game, he’s playing at an All-Star level right now”, says Gregg Popovich who has seen others. “He would be in the race if we had a better record. It is growing at breakneck speed, and in all areas. »
With 24 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists on average over the month of January, and this at 49% shooting success, Dejounte Murray simply produces his best basketball in his career. The Thunder noticed it quickly, as the Seattle native dribbed the ball between the legs before serving Drew Eubanks for the big two-handed dunk, precisely on a pass between the legs!
“I saw him make the pass between his legs and I said to myself: do not screw up on the finish! », raconte Drew Eubanks a posteriori.
The season of the explosion
In his sixth season in the NBA, including a white year for injury in 2018/19, Dejounte Murray finally explodes completely on the boards with 19 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds per game. With all-round career records, the Spurs point guard (who is still only 25 years old) will indeed be one of the candidates for the next all-star game, a puzzle most likely among the coaches’ selections.
“DJ is playing at an incredible level right now and we’re all enjoying it behind him”, confirms Doug McDermott. “He plays very hard on both sides of the pitch and in every game. He likes to up the pace of the game by playing the transition, which is a dream for shooters like me. »
In the Top 25 players who play the most with more than 34 minutes on average, Dejounte Murray was able to breathe in the easy victory of his team last night.
Stored on the bench for the last quarter, the new “franchise player” of Spurs was able to enjoy a well-deserved rest. That he would like to turn into a habit, like in the days of the Duncan – Parker – Ginobili trident…
” I take [ce repos]. I love to play, but if I’m on the bench and we win, it means that the holders who played during the first three quarters have done their job well during these three quarters. This is the level of maturity that we must reach” he concludes thus.
| Dejounte Murray | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2016-17 | SAN | 38 | 9 | 43.1 | 39.1 | 70.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| 2017-18 | SAN | 81 | 22 | 44.3 | 26.5 | 70.9 | 1.4 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 8.1 |
| 2019-20 | SAN | 66 | 26 | 46.2 | 36.9 | 79.8 | 1.1 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 10.9 |
| 2020-21 | SAN | 67 | 32 | 45.3 | 31.7 | 79.1 | 0.9 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 15.7 |
| 2021-22 | SAN | 39 | 34 | 44.8 | 33.1 | 71.0 | 1.2 | 7.1 | 8.3 | 8.8 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 19.1 |
| Total | 291 | 25 | 45.1 | 33.2 | 75.0 | 1.0 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 11.3 | |
