Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray injured his knee yesterday.
Unfortunately, it was as bad as feared.
I Been Beating The Odds And Handling Adversity My Whole Life. I Got No Choice But To Bounce Back. Thanks For The Prayers! 🙏🏽 #GodGotMe🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/Aiggb44Pg4
— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) October 8, 2018
This is a gut punch in both the short and long term.
The Spurs are a fringe playoff team with little margin for error in a stacked Western Conference. Losing their starting point guard is a major blow. Derrick White and Patty Mills will probably handle more at the position. But White is a second-year player who wasn’t even in the rotation last season, and Mills is more of a scorer than distributor. This will be a big ask from both.
This also sidetracks development of the 22-year-old Murray. He’s a staunch defender and elite rebounder for his position, but he had work to do – and was making strides – as a shooter and playmaker. With rookie guard Lonnie Walker also injured, this was a strong 1-2 hit to San Antonio.
The Spurs still have LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan and Gregg Popovich. There’s still hope the coach can figure out something. But Popovich’s challenge has become even greater.