The Key to Dejounte Murray's Triple-Double Madness

Dejounte's growth includes much more than just shooting

In regard to his passing, Murray has also shown rapid development. Coming out of Washington, he was essentially stuck in between two positions. At 6'4, he wasn't tall enough to play shooting guard and certainly not small forward, nor did he have the shooting ability needed to play the position. 

While he possessed flashy handles, he wasn't a natural playmaker. After being drafted by San Antonio, they made the decision to have him play point guard but the results were initially spotty. He struggled with his handle and turnovers early, but he was eventually able to mature into a good pick and pop/roll point guard by setting players like LaMarcus Aldridge up for easy shots.

That experience being the ball handler and using ball screens has helped him significantly this season. He's now able to effectively use screens to get all the way to the rim or get separation for pull-up jumpers and floaters, as well as setting players like Jakob Poeltl up for clean shots.

He's also proven adept at finding shooters on the perimeter, a sign of increased court vision. That steady development has paid big dividends. After all, with 8.1 assists per game, he is now averaging the most assists of any player during coach Gregg Popovich's 26-year tenure.