RealGM

Point guard
First team: Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs

Murray's ascension to starting point guard ahead of Hall of Famer Tony Parker is a big reason the Spurs remain one of the league's top defenses without Leonard. San Antonio has allowed just 97.2 points per 100 possessions with Murray on the court, per NBA Advanced Stats, grabbing more than 80 percent of available defensive rebounds because of his contributions on the glass.

Murray's size (6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-9½ wingspan) is also an asset when he has needed to switch, defend bigger opponents playing alongside Patty Mills or contest from behind defending the pick-and-roll.

3. Dejounte Murray has at least four arms

This dude is everywhere. Sometime around the end of the 2014-15 season, the basic act of dribbling within a 15-foot radius of Kawhi Leonard became dangerous for anyone beyond the league's expert ball-handlers. He just started straight-up snatching the ball out of people's hands. He undressed Ben McLemore on two straight possessions at the start of last season, and I'm not sure McLemore has dribbled since.

Murray is doing that in passing lanes. He just appears out of nowhere, with preposterous arms, and intercepts simple side-to-side passes. Lanes appear wide open, and then, whoosh, Murray is going the other way. He averages two steals and 3.5 deflections per 36 minutes, elite marks. San Antonio's defense is eight points per 100 possessions stingier with Murray on the floor, per NBA.com.

Oh, and he's also just grabbing the ball from people. Excuse me, Andrew Wiggins, you seem very polite and can jump very high, but I will be taking the basketball. Thank you for your participation in this exercise.

Imagine a defense built around Leonard and Murray. /single tear

GREY 1769 wrote:He's well on his way, and he's just starting, too, so to be getting recognized for his defensive efforts already is a credit to how hard he's been working on his game. It's great Murray's taking such pride on defense. Love his attitude.

Dejounte's getting some love from Lowe for another aspect of his defense as well:

3. Dejounte Murray has at least four arms

This dude is everywhere. Sometime around the end of the 2014-15 season, the basic act of dribbling within a 15-foot radius of Kawhi Leonard became dangerous for anyone beyond the league's expert ball-handlers. He just started straight-up snatching the ball out of people's hands. He undressed Ben McLemore on two straight possessions at the start of last season, and I'm not sure McLemore has dribbled since.

Murray is doing that in passing lanes. He just appears out of nowhere, with preposterous arms, and intercepts simple side-to-side passes. Lanes appear wide open, and then, whoosh, Murray is going the other way. He averages two steals and 3.5 deflections per 36 minutes, elite marks. San Antonio's defense is eight points per 100 possessions stingier with Murray on the floor, per NBA.com.

Oh, and he's also just grabbing the ball from people. Excuse me, Andrew Wiggins, you seem very polite and can jump very high, but I will be taking the basketball. Thank you for your participation in this exercise.

http://media.video-cdn.espn.com/gifs/mp4/DEJOUNTE_MURRAY_2gif.mp4

Imagine a defense built around Leonard and Murray. /single tear

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23044990/zach-lowe-10-things-like-including-nikola-jokic-dimes-nba

Whenever I watch the Spurs play on opponent feeds, commentators are invariably impressed with Dejounte's defense. It's not just talk about his rebounding and needing a jumper anymore. I can't wait to see how his game develops once he starts putting together his D, shots, and game management as a PG. I was skeptical of the move to insert him as a starter, but Dejounte's turned me into a believer.

Ballings7 wrote:Murray's been better than expected in general, and his defense has been key and impressive.. it's nice to have him on the team due to his size and agility on both ends. Can't wait to see him make the jump as a shooter over the next two seasons.

Unfortunate haven't really gotten to see Murray/Leonard as a defensive tandem yet..

In a larger, hypothetical scope... this defensive group, and how it should be finishing games against certain teams:

Murray/Green or Manu (who's ever playing better)/Leonard/Gay or Anderson (who's ever playing better)/Aldridge

I'll take that kind of group against Houston or Golden State, any time.

Nolan wrote:SI is on board too.

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/04/11/nba-awards-all-nba-all-defensive-teams-lebron-james-james-harden

The second-year guard’s first career selection makes him the third guard and ninth player in Spurs history to be named to an All-Defensive Team, joining George Johnson, Alvin Robertson, David Robinson, Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. He averaged 5.7 rebounds, 1.20 steals and 0.38 blocks to go along with 8.1 points and 2.9 assists in 21.5 minutes.

With 459 rebounds, Murray set the Spurs record for most total rebounds in a single season by a point guard in franchise history, passing the previous mark of 378 by Johnny Moore in the 1984-85 season. The former Washington Husky had 12 games where he posted double-digit rebounds this season, more than any other Spurs point guard has recorded in their entire career.