SAN FRANCISCO – As basketball fans around the world slowly become more familiar with the Kings and what they’ve been doing all season, they haven’t experienced the explosive roar of their rookie’s last name which frequently erupts inside Golden 1 Center.
Keegan Murray’s name, which fans yell out after every shot he makes, was shouted just once in Sacramento’s Game 1 win over the Golden State Warriors. In Game 2, it was yelled out during player introductions -- and never again.
Through his first two NBA playoff games, the 22-year-old rookie collectively shot 1 of 6 from the field and 0 of 3 from behind the arc. In those games, though, the Kings still came out on top, shocking the world with an early 2-0 best-of-seven series lead against the defending champs in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
But as the Kings packed their bags and traveled 90 miles South West to San Francisco, they knew they would need their all-time rookie 3-point leader to step up -- even if it wasn’t from beyond the arc.
Even though Murray doesn’t receive any friendly shout-outs in opposing arenas, it didn’t matter on Thursday. Murray’s postseason struggles persisted in Sacramento’s 114-97 Game 3 loss to the Warriors at Chase Center.
Coach Mike Brown isn’t discouraged by his rookie, though. In fact, he views it as quite the opposite.
“Well, not many rookies are starting for a playoff team and playing a significant role like he is so this is great for him to go through,” Brown said postgame. “We want him to stay aggressive. We want him to keep shooting the ball. We feel like he's getting some pretty good looks, they're just not going in but I think they will go in and that's why we want him to keep shooting it.
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“And then trying to play defense right away and see if he can get up and easy [shots] in transition. So this is just really new for him -- it’s new for a lot of our guys, but this is really new for him. We love him and we’re going to have patience with him and we're gonna give him a chance to succeed. But he's got to go through growing pains in order to figure it out.”
Murray had six points in Thursday’s loss -- a playoff “high” so far on 2-of-7 shooting from the field and 1 of 5 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, one steal, one block and one turnover in 22 minutes.
His early foul trouble didn’t help his case on Thursday, either.
Murray had three fouls in the opening quarter and had to play more cautiously in the limited minutes he had remaining.
“Yeah, I continue to encourage him, even throughout the game,” Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox said after the loss. “It's difficult, especially for a rookie playing big minutes for us all season.
“I mean, he broke the 3-point record for a reason. So we know he's skilled. We know he can play. Obviously, the physicality and everything has risen, the intensity of the game has risen. He struggled a bit, but for us, we want him to get going. We’re not going to take that away from him.”
In his first regular season in the league, Murray averaged 12.2 points on 45.3 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from downtown, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 29.8 minutes.
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He had the ups and downs that every rookie experiences, but his confidence never faded. He stayed level-headed, focused and willing to listen and learn. It paid off in the regular season, and surely it’s bound to pay off beyond it.
“He's got to learn and grow through experiences like this and that's why he's out on the floor,” Brown said. “He's done a fantastic job for us all season. And this is a different level. And it's a level that he's got to get used to because you know we plan on being here.”
Murray is as even-keeled as they come. He never gets too high or too low. He’s faced adversity in his career before, and he’s now being given an opportunity to bounce back on the biggest stage.
And hopefully for Sacramento, by the time Game 5 returns to Sacramento, the “Murray!” roars will reignite the rookie 3-point king.