NBA: 7 takeaways from the opening week of the regular season

Dejounte Murray for MIP

Most people have the Spurs as a fringe playoff team in the west but with the apparent breakout of Dejounte Murray, that may change very quickly.

The third-year guard missed all of last season with a torn ACL but now he is back and better than he has ever been in 2019.

He was already one of the very best defensive guards in the entire league but now it seems his offense is catching up.

He won’t wow you be going off for 30 a night or hitting five threes but he is proving to be a very reliable floor general who picks his spots to attack, sets up his teammates well and where he thrives the most on offense is in transition.

When Murray gets out in the open floor, he is very difficult to contain. His quickness and burst of speed make it hard for defenders to stop him from getting all the way to the rim and he’s also a danger to find one of his teammates on the break too.

Also, with Dejounte on the floor, the Spurs will have numerous opportunities to get out and run. As one of the best rebounding guards in recent memory, Murray can get a fastbreak started immediately off a miss or he can use his active hands and quick reflexes to get steals or deflections.

Put simply, Murray does a bit of everything and if he can continue to be this two-way star role player, not only will he be in the discussion for MIP but he’ll also significantly raise the ceiling of this Spurs’ team.