The guard-centered offense of the Atlanta Hawks has been successful so far. There is a time and a place for it.
It made sense for the Hawks to trade for Dejounte Murray because he was one of the best defensive guards in the league with Trae Young.
The Hawks were identified as a team to watch in the preseason by the Basketball Power Index, which ranked them third highest in the Eastern Conference and highest in the Southeast Division.
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According to Real Plus Minus, Young has had the biggest offensive impact among point guards in the last three seasons.
Chris Paul and Mike Conley were the only point guards to finish higher in defensive RPM than Murray. Last season Murray led the NBA in steals with 2.0 per game.
When you consider that Young is an extremely high usage player, with a 37.4 USG% that trailed only Luka Doncic, it was hard to see how this partnership could allow Murray to flourish.
Murray scored the fifth most fantasy points in the NBA last season. He was a high usage player, with a 27.3 USG% that was just ahead of James Harden. When he would have to share the ball with Young, how could there be enough points and assists for him?
Murray is doing well through the first month of the season. Young's USG% is still fifth in the NBA, trailing the same three players as last season. Young is taking two more shots this season and his 9.3 APG are the same as his 9.7 APG from last season. Young is where everything in Atlanta is located. Murray is the seventh-most fantasy point scorer in the NBA.
What is it that this can be done?
Young and Murray are the only two team offense creators on the Hawks' roster. The other four players on the team average less than 2 APG. Every other Hawks rotation player gets at least 60 percent of their field goals assisted, even though Murray's field goals are assisted less than Young's. Most of the other players on the Hawks are a finisher.
Murray is the best scorer on the team with the possibility of Young. The team's shot attempts are dominated by the backcourt. Murray and Young combine for almost as many shots as the other three starters and the top two bench producers combined.
Young's and Murray's minutes are almost always on the basketball court. Murray gets about a quarter of the game to fill the Ice-Trae-center-of-everything role. Combining 12 minutes of top-5 usage with 24 minutes of option 1B creator-finisher has allowed Murray not to miss a beat in terms of production. His 7.8 APG this season is less than last season's 9.2, but his scoring average is up and his made threes are up.
The presence of rebound vacuums Clint Capela and John Collins in the starting lineup has eaten into Murray's rebound average. Murray is one of the top-5 pure guard rebounders in the league, even though he's only averaged 6.4RPG this season.
Adding rim support behind him allowed Murray to be more aggressive as a ball hawk. Murray is currently averaging 2.1 SPG, up from his NBA leading 2.0 SPG last season, and his 0.4 BPG is a career best.
Murray is living the fantasy basketball dream in Atlanta. Murray is well ahead of the pace I projected for him. He's moved up to 11th in my rankings and should be in the top 10 by the time the season ends.
In the three seasons since he missed the season with a right knee injury, Murray has averaged eight absences per season. Next to one of the highest usage players in the NBA, the system is set up for him to play to his fullest potential.
If you can get him more for his name recognition value and/or from a manager that still questions whether he'll be able to reach his level next to Young, I would be happy to trade for Murray. Good value can often lead to the championship if you get him for it.
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