San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray’s incredible stat sheet

The Cleveland Cavaliers had LeBron James explode for a near triple-double. However, San Antonio Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray delivered his own satisfying night on the stat sheet.

Dejounte Murray’s tantalizing wingspan helps him plenty on the basketball court. It allows him to get extra reach under the boards, guard opponents on the perimeter and shoot over another defender. This gives him the ability to contribute across the board for the San Antonio Spurs, which shows up on every game’s box score.

Well, Sunday’s game vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers brought this to the forefront.

Murray’s final stat line was remarkable, to say the least. He contributed in everything but 3-point shooting and delivered one of his best performances of the season. This was on 5-for-12 shooting:

• Points: 13
• Rebounds: 9
• Assists: 5
• Steals: 4
• Blocks: 3

Jordan Howenstine noted Murray’s performance was a history-making one, too, for point guards:

Dejounte Murray is the only point guard in the NBA this season to record 4+ steals and 3+ blocks in a single game.

— Jordan Howenstine (@AirlessJordan) February 25, 2018

The four steals was the second-highest mark of Murray’s season; the blocks tied a season-high that happened just two weeks ago. There was an opportunity at a double-double, which he just missed on his sixth of the season.

Games like this flash the potential of the 21-year-old guard and what he may bring in the future, on a consistent basis. This could make him the next great Spur and someone to start for years to come.

It’s different than Tony Parker’s play of the past 16 years that featured quickness and a shorter player at the position; Murray stands at 6′ 5”. Now, Parker comes off the bench and gets to mentor the new starter, a relationship that can stick for the next few years, pending the Spurs re-sign the Frenchman in the offseason.

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There are 21 games to follow, and the playoffs, to show what Murray can do as the starter and become a fixture on the 2018-19 team, however the roster may look. This could be the long-term point guard and someone Spurs fans get used to at the one spot.