The Celtic fan’s guide to falling in love with Jamal Murray

BOSTON.COM

By Brian Robb


The freshman sharpshooter believes he's the best player in this year's draft class
Kentucky's Jamal Murray averaged 20 points per game this season.

The basics:

Position: Point guard, shooting guard

Height: 6-5

Weight: 201 lbs

Age: 19

College: Kentucky

Year: Freshman

The game: Outside shooting is a commodity tough to find in the top half of the NBA Draft this year, but Murray is one player guaranteed to provide it at the pro level. The Canadian guard was the primary option within John Calipari’s offense, largely based on his catch and shoot ability coming off screens and on kickouts. He played point guard for the majority of his early career before being shifted to the two-guard at Kentucky, making him a candidate to play both spots at the pro level. Questions about his athleticism, particularly on the defensive end, will make teams wonder whether he can handle big minutes against top-level competition on both ends of the floor.

The statistics (2015-16 season): 20.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 45.4 FG%, 40.8 3PT%

The NBA-ready skill: 3-Point range. Murray wasn’t just an accurate 3-point shooter at the college level (40 percent), he was a frequent one, attempting 7.7 shots per game from distance. With NBA teams looking to spread the floor more than ever, Murray is capable of stepping right in to provide that valuable skill set.

Needs to improve: Containing dribble penetration. While he filled up the box score on the offensive end at Kentucky, opposing offenses regularly targeted his lackluster defense on the perimeter. Murray struggled staying in front of speedy point guards at the point of attack. It’s unclear whether he has the size/strength to handle NBA wings, so Murray has to work on his defensive mechanics to show he can hold his own.

The hype: While Murray declared himself as the best player in the draft at the Celtics draft workout last week, the pundits disagree with that assessment. Despite Boston’s need for shooting, only one draft expert (Gary Parrish of CBS Sports) has the 19-year-old heading to the Celtics at No. 3. The consensus for the time being has Murray falling in the 6-8 range, largely due to concerns about his defensive potential. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress explains:

Defensively, Murray will also require an adjustment period in making the step up to the NBA level. He was somewhat of a traffic cone early on in the season for Kentucky, but he did learn how to be more fundamentally sound and competitive as the year moved on. …He is somewhat of a controversial prospect, as his lack of athleticism is not what you typically find in a guard prospect projected to be picked in the top five to seven spots in the draft.

112288

I Dunno...

Kind of hard to propose a man-crush in Boston for a kid with suspect D.

That, and having watched a lot of his games, he needs screens to be set.  Has to come off those well set screens to be effective.  The question then becomes, do we have the right players to make selecting Murray a good idea?

I still hope we find our shooting elsewhere in the draft.  Hield early, Valentine a little later, yes, but I hesitate to go with Murray.

steve3344 wrote:Shocking stat about Murray:

"His work as a ball handler needs to get much better, though -- Murray had more turnovers (84) than assists (79)."

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/06/14/2016-nba-mock-draft-2-0/

Steve,

To be polite about it, his handle leaves something to be desired, as does his passing.

That's part of the reason that, despite starting the season with Murray as the point, they put Ulis back at point and Murray went to 2-guard.

It's among the reasons I keep saying if we're going for scoring and need shooters I like Hield and Valentine. But even I'm getting tired of hearing me say that.
Personally, I also would like to see us draft upper-classmen if the opportunity is there. More developed game, more NBA ready, less chance of washout IMO.

Regards

I have not seen enough of this guy to know much about his ability to play point guard in the NBA so I will not go with him as the #3 pick over a guy who can also shoot while playing the small forward position.

But, I will go with him over Heild because he is much further along as a freshman than Heild was as a freshman four seasons ago. It only makes sense that he will be better than Heild over time if he is a worker.

Just like I am not sure that anyone can fall in love with Murray's shooting exhibition last week in Boston, you can't fall in love with just Heild's shooting display in California either. There is not really much different in making 77 or 85 uncontested shots, but there is a lot to be said for the potential improvements that Murray could make in the next three years in skills and also possibly in versatility.