San Antonio Spurs News: Dejounte Murray out indefinitely with a right calf strain

Franchise point guard Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs suffered a calf strain during an overtime loss to the Cavaliers.

The San Antonio Spurs and NBA fans all over the globe were hit with shocking news Monday afternoon, when the Spurs announced point guard Dejounte Murray will be out indefinitely with a right calf strain.

The injury was sustained during the loss against the 19-45 Cleveland Cavaliers, with San Antonio offering no further update as it pertains to the actual moment the injury occurred, nor did they provide any sort of update on the timetable for a potential return this season.

This is Dejounte’s first major injury all-season, as this is his inaugural season as the San Antonio Spurs’ full-time starting point guard. Battling what was a brutal torn ACL last season, this injury strikes as the final blow to any hope that the Spurs could make a final playoff push.

Murray, the full-time starting Point Guard for the Alamo City, was posting statistical lines of 10.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and nearly two steals a game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field. As of recent, he looked to finally come into his own offensively and play off the other talent on the roster, while creating offense for everyone else on the team. With a setback as significant as the one he suffered, he left his first season on a good building block for the future.

To begin the season, San Antonio maintained it’s health throughout the early portion. With little-to-no injuries to make note of, the Spurs looked to put the demons of that plethora of injuries suffered in 2018 to rest during their 2019-20 campaign.

But, history repeated itself once more. San Antonio throughout the recent weeks has dealt with the injury bug once more, this time at the worst moment it could hit.

San Antonio has missed starting PF/C LaMarcus Aldridge for the past six contests with a right shoulder strain and has recently lost center Jakob Poeltl to an MCL Sprain, which will hold him out for potentially the next 2-3 weeks.

With Lonnie Walker IV battling a recent shin contusion, and veteran Marco Belinelli battling an illness, the Spurs are dealing with a barrage of injuries to every position on the floor.

With San Antonio potentially losing their starting floor general for the remainder of the season, the defensive impact felt from the Murray absence will be overwhelming for the entire squad.

San Antonio will face an abundance of offensive talent primarily at the Guard spot, with Luka Doncic, Jamal Murray, D’Angelo Russell, Ja Morant and lastly Donovan Mitchell all on the horizon.

The loss of the team’s best perimeter defender is likely to cap off what was an underwhelming, disappointing year for the Silver and Black.

More from Air Alamo

Losing the team’s best on-ball defender, will put this team at a deficit defensively, but also as an offense now without another ball-handler to run the offense.

The Spurs will now look for Derrick White to become the starting point guard for this team, with younger guys like Keldon Johnson to take on a much more significant role on the main roster.

Possibly, the Spurs could bring up 2019 second-round draft pick Quinndary Weatherspoon, who’s been having an impressive rookie season for the Austin Spurs. Weatherspoon is posting statistical lines of 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game in the G League. Now, with the onslaught of injuries suffered, the Spurs have no choice but to bring the Mississippi State Guard aboard for the final stretch of the season.

All three Spurs rookies get playing time in BK. Next

Currently, via Tankathon, the Spurs are projected to have the 11th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. With a 9.4 percent chance at a top 4 pick and a 2.0% chance at getting the #1 overall pick, surely the draft odds will begin to fall in their favor with losing one of their best players on both ends.