Keegan Murray
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Part of it is just differences in outlook/personality.
But part of it is definitely a difference in experience and coaching philosophy.
Both fathers coached their sons. But Kenyon Murray has made comments about the time spent on footwork and shooting mechanics as Keegan and Kris grew up. That's the value of a dad as coach who played college basketball. It's not just about today - it's about building the long term skills and long term outlook vs having a young kid dominate based on what they are already good at.
I'm guessing that if MBIII had Keegan's dad he would have spent countless hours being able to turn over both shoulders in the post, score with either hand, and have better fundamentals on both ends. There's a reason why NBA players who have dads that played in the league seem to outperform expectations - they learn the game from a perspective of what it means to compete at the highest level. Having a dad/coach who played college ball is the next best thing.
But part of it is definitely a difference in experience and coaching philosophy.
Both fathers coached their sons. But Kenyon Murray has made comments about the time spent on footwork and shooting mechanics as Keegan and Kris grew up. That's the value of a dad as coach who played college basketball. It's not just about today - it's about building the long term skills and long term outlook vs having a young kid dominate based on what they are already good at.
I'm guessing that if MBIII had Keegan's dad he would have spent countless hours being able to turn over both shoulders in the post, score with either hand, and have better fundamentals on both ends. There's a reason why NBA players who have dads that played in the league seem to outperform expectations - they learn the game from a perspective of what it means to compete at the highest level. Having a dad/coach who played college ball is the next best thing.
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It's kind of too early to tell, but it seems like a lot of the perceived bad teams like OKC, Utah, Blazers and San Antonio are playing better than expected. Let's hope that trend continues. It's also hard to say whether the Lakers will be at the bottom.. they still have Lebron and Davis and they owe their 1st round pick to the pelicans so they don't have an incentive to tank.
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Given that we were expected to be in a tight race for the bottom of the playin spots, I would rate our chances of making even that as having receded significantly.
Yes, it's early, and our schedule has been tough. However, we have also had 3 home games, except for one b2b, several rest days, and no major injuries (except 1 game missed by Keegan). Many of the teams we expected to be below us have had early wins, so even if we up our game, we will need to do lots of catching up. Finally, there are not many BAD teams in the league right now. While even bad teams can have good days, many teams we thought will struggle, have started off well.
Worse, I think we need to address some issues. Some of our summer moves have shown promise (Keegan and Huerter), but we have not seen other players take a leap. Most teams that do well see players taking a leap. Davion is our most likely candidate, as a sophomore lottery pick and the lead guard for the second unit, but he's struggling with his shot.
Domas is solid but not spectacular, something we need from him. Some other guys (Monk in particular), need to give consistent offense. Sure, shooters will have bad shooting nights, but they shouldn't be the norm. We need good, reliable, consistent play from Holmes, Monk, TD, and Davion, plus occasional cameos from Lyles, and some offense from KZ. None of this is happening right now. I will forgive Barnes for now, since he has a long record, and deserves some leeway. He did show up in the last game, and hope that continues.
If so many players are struggling, it's up to the coaching staff to figure things out. They better do it fast. We won't tank, and will never really be in the victor sweepstakes (still don't think we are that bad). A few more losses, and the season will effectively become pointless though.
Yes, it's early, and our schedule has been tough. However, we have also had 3 home games, except for one b2b, several rest days, and no major injuries (except 1 game missed by Keegan). Many of the teams we expected to be below us have had early wins, so even if we up our game, we will need to do lots of catching up. Finally, there are not many BAD teams in the league right now. While even bad teams can have good days, many teams we thought will struggle, have started off well.
Worse, I think we need to address some issues. Some of our summer moves have shown promise (Keegan and Huerter), but we have not seen other players take a leap. Most teams that do well see players taking a leap. Davion is our most likely candidate, as a sophomore lottery pick and the lead guard for the second unit, but he's struggling with his shot.
Domas is solid but not spectacular, something we need from him. Some other guys (Monk in particular), need to give consistent offense. Sure, shooters will have bad shooting nights, but they shouldn't be the norm. We need good, reliable, consistent play from Holmes, Monk, TD, and Davion, plus occasional cameos from Lyles, and some offense from KZ. None of this is happening right now. I will forgive Barnes for now, since he has a long record, and deserves some leeway. He did show up in the last game, and hope that continues.
If so many players are struggling, it's up to the coaching staff to figure things out. They better do it fast. We won't tank, and will never really be in the victor sweepstakes (still don't think we are that bad). A few more losses, and the season will effectively become pointless though.
And very few teams have this kind of leftover baggage. It's a tough spot to be in, but it's the one Monte chose. Only one way and that's up. Or out. So 2 I guess but this next rebuild is going to be tough if they can't land something in return immediately. You don't build around smallish combo G's or catch and shoot players. At least nobody else does or has.
What's so impressive about murray's game is that he just knows which areas to be in to allow himself open threes and he's great at moving without the ball to get layups. Coming into the league a lot of people have been critical of his ball handling which is a valid concern, but he hasn't had much trouble getting to the rim because he's such a good shooter. Most of his drives are from defenders overcommitting on trying to close out on him from 3 and that's when defenders are at his mercy. He has been surprising teams, but once more scouting report comes out on him they will try to limit and take away these things from him. It will be up to murray to adapt. The next step in his evolution will be his playmaking and ball handling. Will he be able to create his own shot with his defender honed in on him? We've seen glimpses of it, but he hasn't have to do much of creating his own shot/playmaking since that is more of deaaron's job and murray is not exactly the focal point of our offense yet.
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