‘Fantastic’ Murray on right track to become two-way Kings star originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — Don’t look now, but a two-way star is being born in the NBA.
Keegan Murray entered the league two seasons ago as a lottery-pick rookie on a Sacramento Kings team that hadn’t been to the playoffs in 16 years. Fans were optimistic and hopeful, but the reality was so much more.
Murray helped halt the Kings’ playoff drought with his scoring, mostly as a spot-up 3-point shooter. He broke the NBA rookie 3-point record with 206 made treys and earned All-NBA Rookie First Team honors.
Murray’s first-year showing raised eyebrows, but it also upped expectations as the young forward entered his sophomore season. The Kings wanted him to find ways to score other than from beyond the arc while also emphasizing defense.
Check and check.
Now entering Year 3, Murray has seen what he’s fully capable of on both ends, and he’s implementing it in ways that could be dangerous for the rest of the league.
And if Friday’s preseason game against the Golden State Warriors was any indication of Murray’s sky-high potential, he’s headed in the right direction.
Murray was all over the floor in a 109-106 loss at Chase Center, with aggressiveness on both offense and defense. Measuring Murray’s growth can be tricky, especially defensively, since many of the little things don’t always show up on a stat sheet.
But to put numbers on things: Murray was given several difficult defensive assignments, such as bodying up 6-foot-6, 230-pound Draymond Green, who, to put it lightly, can make it a long night for anyone guarding him.
Murray, who’s 6-8 and 215 pounds, accepted the challenge and finished with a game-high five steals.
Murray also had the tall task of defending — as one can try their best to — Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who left the game early with a jammed right index finger. Curry played 16 minutes and finished with just six points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field (28.5 percent) and 1 of 4 from 3-point range (25 percent), three rebounds, four assists and four turnovers.
While that’s a small sample size,…
..
