The sudden departure of the little card
The departure of Kawhi Leonard may be an eternal pain in the hearts of the San Antonio Spurs. An unpopular rookie who has grown into a superstar in the league after the Spurs, everyone expects him to be able to carry the Spurs' banner after GDP leaves. But who would have thought that Leonard envied the lights of Los Angeles, thinking of leaving the small city of San Antonio and being traded to the Toronto Raptors, even the championship trophy did not stop him from going to Los Angeles.
This is the league today, and the days when GDP dedicated a lifetime to the team are long gone. In the past, the team was the home of the players, and what they wanted was to add honor to the family and have the day when they could raise their eyebrows. But now, as the NBA has become a full-fledged commercial league, players are thinking about how to get more rewards and benefits for themselves.
Spurs' serendipity
The departure of the little card disrupted the Spurs' pace, and the team ended the record of consecutive playoffs, and they were no longer on the All-Star stage. But it didn't take long for Popovich to develop another All-Star player, Dejuntai Murray, who became a bonus for the Spurs. Murray is not the kind of player who is full of talent, and the 29th pick in the first round is the best proof of this. However, Murray had excellent defense and was in the best defensive team in his second year, which guaranteed his lower limit.
In the first two seasons of his career, although Murray was growing, he only grew from a substitute to a starter, and then the third season was reimbursed for injury seasons. When Murray returned, the Spurs found another reverse eye, that is, Derrick White. Compared to Murray, White is a more stable option, Popovich let the two partner in the backcourt, the first two seasons, or White more on the number one position, because Popovich trusted him more.
However, this season, Murray stabilized the starting point guard position, and because of his excellent personal performance, the San Antonio Spurs did not hesitate to send Derrick White. The reason for sending White away was simple: to make Murray the only backcourt core of the team and the only team leader. So Murray, how has it been this season?
League first + third
Murray continued his excellent defensive habits, averaging 2.0 steals per game, ranking first in the league, in addition, Murray's average assists per game also came to the third place in the league, giving 9.3 assists per game, second only to Paul and Harden. It is worth mentioning that Murray has few mistakes, averaging only 2.4 times per game, what is the concept? Trae Young and Doncic are both defenders who are good at passing, Trae Young averaged 9.3 assists and 4.4 turnovers per game, Doncic averaged 9.0 assists and 4.5 turnovers per game, and Harden averaged 10.2 assists and 4.8 turnovers.
In terms of assist-to-turnover ratio, there is only one person in the league, who is better than Murray, and that is Chris Paul, the god of point guards. So far this season, Paul has averaged 10.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game, which is also 2.4 turnovers. This is a big improvement for Murray this season, and even Popovich can't help but sigh that Murray's assist-to-turnover ratio this season is really crazy, and there are not many young people who have such stability. This season, Murray has entered the All-Star stage, and his strength has risen to another level.
I have to admit that Popovich is really good at cultivating young players, with small cards in the front and Murray in the back. I hope that Murray can lead the team to compete for a place in the playoffs, and I hope that Popovich can achieve the honor of the first victory in history as soon as possible.