How Dejounte Murray is thriving next to Trae Young in Atlanta

When the Atlanta Hawks traded for Dejounte Murray this offseason, pairing of 1 of the champion antiaircraft guards successful the league with Trae Young, 1 of the champion of violative guards successful the league, it made a batch of consciousness connected insubstantial for the Hawks to succeed.

ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI) identified the Hawks arsenic a squad to ticker (and a imaginable futures goldmine) successful the preseason, with the third-highest BPI people successful the Eastern Conference and the highest successful the Southeast Division.

Young, for his part, has had the largest violative interaction among constituent guards successful the NBA successful 2 of the past 3 seasons, per ESPN's Real Plus Minus (RPM).

And the lone constituent guards to decorativeness higher successful Defensive RPM than Murray during each of the past 2 seasons were Chris Paul and Mike Conley. Murray, a erstwhile All-Defensive Team selection, besides led the NBA successful steals past play with 2.0 per game.

But, erstwhile you see that Young is an highly precocious usage player, with a 37.4 USG% that trailed lone Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo successful the full NBA past season, it was hard to spot however this concern could let Murray to thrive successful phantasy basketball.

Murray scored the fifth-most phantasy points successful the NBA past play arsenic the superior violative motor connected the Spurs. He was a precocious usage subordinate himself, with a 27.3 USG% that ranked conscionable up of Russell Westbrook and James Harden. How could determination beryllium capable points and assists for him to replicate that phantasy occurrence this season, erstwhile he'd person to stock the shot with Young?

Well, done the archetypal period of the season, Murray is thriving successful the ATL. Young has a 35.0 USG% that inactive ranks 5th successful the NBA, trailing the aforesaid 3 players arsenic past play positive Ja Morant. Young is taking 2 more shots this season, and his 9.3 APG are akin to his 9.7 APG from the past campaign. Everything successful Atlanta inactive runs done Young. But, from the aforesaid backcourt, Murray presently has the seventh-most phantasy points successful the NBA.

How is this possible?

It starts with the roster operation of the Hawks, wherever Young and Murray are the lone 2 team-offense creators connected the full roster. No different subordinate connected the squad averages much than 1.8 APG, and the different 3 starters harvester to mean 2.7 APG. While lone 23.2% of Murray's tract goals are assisted (and lone 13.8% of Young's), each different Hawks rotation subordinate sans Aaron Holiday gets astatine slightest 60% of their tract goals assisted. Outside of Young and Murray, astir each different subordinate connected the Hawks is purely a finisher.

But, adjacent surrounded by finishers, Murray is inactive the champion scorer connected the squad with the imaginable objection of Young. Thus, the starting backcourt perfectly dominates the changeable attempts connected the team. Murray is besides taking much shots (19.1 FGA) this play than past (18.3 FGA), and helium and Young harvester for astir arsenic galore shots per crippled (41.5 combined FGA) arsenic the different 3 starters positive the apical 2 seat producers combined (42.7 FGA).

In addition, the Hawks stagger Young's and Murray's minutes specified that 1 is astir ever connected the court. Young plays 35.1 MPG, which means that Murray inactive gets astir a 4th of the crippled to capable the Ice-Trae-center-of-everything relation for the offense. And combining astir 12 minutes of top-5 usage with 24 minutes of enactment 1B creator-finisher has allowed Murray not to miss a bushed successful presumption of accumulation compared to his clip with the Spurs. His 7.8 APG this play correspond a tiny measurement backmost from his 9.2 APG past season, but some his scoring mean (21.5 PPG) and his made threes (1.9 3PG) are really up a bit.

At the different extremity of the court, the beingness of rebound vacuums Clint Capela and John Collins (19.9 combined RPG) successful the starting lineup person eaten into Murray's rebounds. Murray is averaging "only" 6.4 RPG this play aft 8.3 RPG last, but that inactive ranks him among the top-5 axenic defender rebounders successful the league.

And, the added rim enactment down him seems to person allowed Murray to beryllium adjacent much assertive arsenic a shot hawk. Murray is presently averaging 2.1 SPG, up from his NBA starring 2.0 SPG past season, and his 0.4 BPG besides correspond a career-best pace.

Put it each together, and Murray is surviving the phantasy hoops imagination successful Atlanta (shout-out to the WNBA Atlanta Dream). Averaging 48.6 FP/G done the archetypal month, Murray is good up of the gait I projected for him (41.7 FP/G). He's moved up to 11th successful my rest-of-season FBA points rankings, and if LeBron James' wounded lingers, Murray should soon beryllium successful the top-10.

Murray missed the 2018-19 play with a torn close ACL but has been reliable successful the 3 seasons since with an mean of lone 8 absences per season. Moving guardant with the Hawks, the strategy is acceptable up for him to play to his maximum capabilities adjacent adjacent to 1 of the highest usage players successful the NBA.

I'd beryllium perfectly blessed trading for Murray successful phantasy leagues, peculiarly if you tin get him much for his (relatively low) sanction designation worth and/or from a manager that inactive questions whether he'll beryllium capable to scope his level adjacent to Young. This would mean that you got him for value, and you cognize the sanction of the game: Elite accumulation + bully worth tin often pb to the championship!