Spurs setback: base Dejounte Murray lost the torn ACL
Spurs setback: base Dejounte Murray lost the torn ACL
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Dejounte Murray passed James Harden and on his way to the basket, demonstrating one of the skills that made the San Antonio Spurs convinced that he is the right owner for his team.
And then Murray's knee gave up.
In an instant, the entire trajectory of the Spurs' season could have changed.
Murray's season is almost over, after the Spurs learned Monday that their starting point guard has a torn ACL on his right knee. The team has not disclosed when Murray will be operated on, nor has it determined a timeline for his return, but the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the LCA is a process that usually takes about a year.
"Keep going," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, standing in a corner of the team's practice facility in San Antonio shortly after Murray's diagnosis was released. "He's going to be out, a devastating injury to him, to the team, but life goes on, everybody will pick him up and do the best job we can to move forward without him."
Murray, who turned 22 last month, averaged 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season.
"I guess you lose the season," said Popovich.
In a tweet, Murray thanked people for their support and said that he "has been overcoming odds and handling adversity" throughout his life.
Murray was a member of the second team of the NBA Defensive Team last season, the youngest player to win such a distinction. He was also to be the owner of a team that is pursuing a 22nd consecutive appearance in the postseason, which would tie the NBA record.
Instead, the Spurs are likely to have to choose between letting Derrick White take the initial gig or seeking help elsewhere.
"We already had confidence in Derrick," said Popovich. "He did a good job for us and he was improving fast, just like Dejounte, if Dejounte was healthy or not, Derrick was going to play."
Murray became the Spurs starter last season, inheriting the role that Tony Parker played for most of the two decades. Parker left the Spurs in the offseason, signing a two-year contract with the Charlotte Hornets, which means that the only person who started matches at the point last season and remains on the San Antonio list is Patty Mills.
"We are in leaders now, and I, to make sure that everyone who is going to fill Dejounte's shoes is ready," Mills said. "We're going to need them."
It's been an absolutely brutal preseason for the Spurs, who were entering a transition year anyway now that the Big Three was officially over and that Kawhi Leonard was traded to Toronto. Tim Duncan retired two years ago, Parker went to Charlotte and Manu Ginobili decided to retire during the summer. And now, besides that, not only Murray is hurt, but rookie guard Lonnie Walker IV will miss several weeks while recovering from a torn meniscus.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said that if a coach can figure out how to handle all of this, it's Popovich.
"If you have to be in one of those situations, you want to have a Hall of Fame mind to be able to solve something," Spoelstra said. "In the whole league, I think everyone, staff and players, you get scared when you hear news like that, very unfortunate."
Popovich joked Monday that LaMarcus Aldridge will start, as will DeMar DeRozan, the Star Guard acquired in the Leonard exchange.
Many other things, a week away from the regular season, are now unclear.
"We will discover how we want to move forward, in the sense that nothing is in stone," said Popovich.
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