Coming away with just one win from the first five games is not a result any San Antonio fan will be pleased with. When you’re in a rebuild, you need to look for improvement in other ways from time to time. Especially during stretches like this opener in which the young team is up against some of the league’s best squads.
One of the brightest spot for the Spurs so far is the play of Dejounte Murray. The 25 year-old point guard has seen his career stop and start due to injuries, but now has the keys to run Coach Pop’s offense.
Through five games, Murray is averaging a career-high 8.8 assists, which blows his previous marks out of the water. His growth year over year in both number of assists, and his assist to turnover ratio, indicate that this is real, sustainable growth.
| Asissts | Turnovers | A/T Ratio | |
| 2016-17 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
| 2017-18 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| 2018-19 | Did not play – Torn ACL | ||
| 2019-20 | 4.1 | 1.9 | 2.2 |
| 2020-21 | 5.4 | 1.7 | 3.2 |
| 2021-22 | 8.8 | 2.2 | 4.0 |
The Spurs offense is full of intriguing, young guards that have shown an ability to pass. If Murray can continue to distribute the ball and keep Popovich’s offense moving, he’ll be a lock to close games and have the ball in his hands in the biggest moments.
We’ll be on the lookout for more highlight passes like this one from last year:
Michael Burns
Founder of HoopSocial. Girl Dad. WNBA stan. Syracuse Orange and Charlotte Hornets fan. Sarcasm is my native tongue. You can follow me on Twitter at @mike_hoopsocial.