Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray provided three solid outings through the team’s 1-2 stretch last week.
Sacramento’s 123-117 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday saw Murray furnish 13 points, three rebounds, two blocks, one assist, and one steal on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.
The Kings traveled to Denver on Thursday to take on the Nuggets in the back end of a back-to-back. Murray’s outing of 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal on 4-of-10 shooting wasn’t enough to help his team prevail in the 132-123 loss.
Saturday’s game between the Kings and the New York Knicks went in favor of the Knicks, 143-120. Murray put together a well-rounded performance of 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on 5-of-11 shooting.
The third-year forward’s scoring numbers have taken a hit this season, mainly due to the addition of six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, but his all-around game has improved. In 42 games played thus far, Murray is averaging 11.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 0.8 steals on 42.4/32/83.7 shooting splits in 35.5 minutes of game action.
Sacramento has drastically improved its position in the Western Conference standings since firing head coach Mike Brown, winning nine of its previous 10 games before the dismal three-game stretch last week.
Despite their winning ways, the Kings remain out of a playoff spot, sitting as the 10th seed with a 23-22 record – three games behind the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.
Kris Murray
Forward Kris Murray continues to see inconsistent opportunities to showcase his talents due to playing on a young and talented Portland Trail Blazers squad.
The second-year player saw the floor in two of the team’s four games last week. He didn’t play in the 116-107 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday or the 102-97 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
Kris saw 12 minutes in the 101-79 blowout win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday and logged six points, three rebounds, and one steal on 2-of-3 shooting. His next appearance was against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, where he failed to record a single stat in his five minutes of action.
Playing in 38 of 46 games so far this season, Kris is averaging 4.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.2 blocks on 46.3/26.7/46.7 shooting splits in 14.3 minutes.
Portland’s mission to a successful rebuild is still in-play, shooting for a high first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by increasing its odds through a poor record. The organization is well on its way towards that with a 17-29 record — firmly sitting at the 13th seed in the Western conference standings.
Luka Garza
Despite the trade that sent former Minnesota Timberwolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks during the offseason, center Luka Garza remains a security blanket for frontcourt injuries.
He didn’t play in the 115-114 clutch win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, but did see action in the other two games last week — the 108-106 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday and the 133-104 blowout victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
The fourth-year big man recorded two points and five rebounds on 1-of-2 shooting in eight total minutes of action in both games combined. Garza is averaging 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds on 56.7/25/62.5 shooting splits through 14 games this season.
Minnesota’s 24-21 record has them placed at the seventh seed in the Western conference standings — one game behind the Clippers for the sixth seed and one game ahead of the Kings for the 10th seed.