Dejounte Murray and the San Antonio Spurs
The most recent, and perhaps heartbreaking, injury to befall one of these teams came on October 7, when Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs tore his ACL. The third-year guard, who was being counted on to vastly improve and help lift this new-era Spurs team, will now be out for the year.
Although San Antonio still has their two best players active in LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, this blow to their point guard depth will certainly be felt. While Patty Mills has performed decently as a starter in limited bursts, it’s clear the Spurs prefer him coming off the bench and alongside another ball handler. And Derrick White, a second-year player who the Spurs are excited about, will undoubtedly be unpolished and suffer growing pains this upcoming year.
Following the injury, Head Coach Gregg Popovich said:
"“Devastating injury for him and the team, but life goes on. Everybody will pick up, and we will do the best job we can to carry on without him.”"
The Spurs are still a threat to make the playoffs for the 22nd consecutive year, but they will definitely be an easier team to beat without Dejounte Murray. You can count on them to win less games without him, making the playoff race for Portland that much easier.