What do Anthony Davis, Victor Wembanyama, Alperen Sengun, Evan Mobley, Jaren Jackson Jr., Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid all have in common? Easy … they’re all considered premier bigs in today’s NBA. We’re talking MVPs, DPOYs, all-star nods — the cream of the crop.
The less obvious commonality between them is that they’re all players Collin Murray-Boyles has been asked to go through during his first steps as a pro. While every rookie’s path begins differently, it’s clear the Toronto Raptors have no intention of holding the 20-year-old’s hand as he embarks on his. Even though “CMB” has been fully expected to keep up.
Talk about a warm welcome. If by warm we mean being thrown right into the flames.
The principles of a “trial by fire,” which originated during medieval times, were simple: if a person was innocent or righteous, then divine intervention would seemingly protect them through the ordeal. Unfortunately for Murray-Boyles, the basketball gods won’t be stepping in to help, no matter how many times he gets burned by an NBA megastar during his rookie campaign.
With that being said, and with nine games’ worth of perspective on pick No. 9, has he already risen through the ashes, or is he still figuring out how to navigate between the smoke and embers?
To figure that out, it’ll help to understand why the Raptors have integrated Murray-Boyles with no cossetting. Simply put, it’s because “he’s a very talented basketball player,” as head coach Darko Rajakovic explained.
“He has such a good feel for the game, he just does a good job of being in the right place and he competes on a really high level.”
It’s hard to disagree with that assessment after watching CMB’s near-400 possessions at NBA-speed, recognizing the forward’s ability to read and react effectively — undoubtedly an uncommon trait amongst first-years.
Which explains why his RJ Barrett said “I don’t think he’s playing like a rookie,” despite Murray-Boyles’ modest averages of 8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 49.2 / 50.0 / 70.6 per cent shooting splits.
On offence, it’s been simple (but important) stuff that CMB has nailed to this point.
The rook’s got a knack for setting impactful and versatile screens — second amongst rookies in average screen assists (1.7) and points generated off them (3.7). He’s capable of pinning defenders, slipping for line drives or short-rolling into playmaking opportunities. CMB leads the Raptors in roll-man possessions and frequency, while ranking top 50 in the NBA for points generated (1.08) and field goal percentage (60.0) on such plays.
His skills as a connective-passer have also been a highlight, often gluing together actions — through high-low feeds — as a middle-man. Don’t take my word for it, his career-high five assists against the Grizzlies ought to convince you plenty. His passing numbers don’t jump off the page, but Murray-Boyles is routinely moving the ball in the right direction — eighth amongst rookies and fourth on Toronto in secondary assists — even with a bit of style on occasion. I’d honestly like the Raptors to explore using him as a playmaking hub more often, especially with starter-heavy lineups.
And I’d be remiss not to mention CMB’s three-point shooting, which I’m sure has caught the attention of many. Why wouldn’t it? The development of a worthwhile jumper was deemed a swing skill for the South Carolina product, and so far, he’s been drilling his looks from outside. He’s made 9-of-18 shots from beyond the arc, tied for as many makes as he had on 39 attempts through two NCAA seasons.
It is worth noting that Murray-Boyle’s 50 per cent mark has been propped up by an early two-game stretch when he caught fire for 6-of-9 shooting from deep. Directly after that, he went three consecutive appearances without a made triple and failed to hit a long-ball in four of his first six games. For opponents to respect CMB’s jumper, consistency will matter as much as conversion. Which is why it’s been encouraging to see those early swings stabilize recently, with the rookie going 3-of-4 over his last three games, hitting one triple in each contest.
His commitment to taking threes even when they haven’t dropped — letting it fly without hesitation, so long as they’ve been high-quality looks — has also been positive. Against the Hawks, even after missing a couple of triples, he assuredly floated into the left corner and splashed his third attempt to make it a two-possession game. Which is to Rajakovic’s credit, who has given Murray-Boyles the “green light to shoot the ball when he’s open.”
Making threes requires taking them, and so far, CMB is doing both as well as anyone could’ve hoped.
An important development for the rookie, as coaxing defenders into stepping up will give CMB the requisite room to utilize his handle and get his locomotive-like 245-pound frame downhill more frequently. A headlining skill for the rookie entering the draft, and one that’ll be necessary to overcome his lack of size in the NBA.
The rook is converting 62 per cent of his rim-attempts, slightly above average for his position (per Cleaning The Glass). Good but not great. And not all that surprising, given he measures in at six-foot-seven, leaving him occasionally undersized as a forward/centre, even if Murray-Boyles was lauded for his touch and finishing ability coming out of college.
For what it’s worth, I do think that’s bound to improve should he be able to create and pursue advantageous angles more often. While CMB is tied for 209th in drives per game at 2.3 (min. four games), right in line with spot-up 3-and-D specialist Cameron Johnson, he is 18th in field goal percentage (62.5) among those averaging two or more drives, and 13th in points generated for players with the kind of limited volume he’s seen as a driver.
His burgeoning jumper has the makings of a spark that could light the path toward more drives and thus more success at the rim. Which he and the Raptors need more of.
On a less positive note, the mid-range area is where CMB has looked the least polished. He’s gone 1-of-11 on non-rim twos, and by my count, he’s 1-of-6 on push shots, which seems to be his go-to in the rare times he’s gotten the ball within that 4-to-14 feet range during halfcourt possessions. Rather than a viable counter, so far it’s looked more like a last resort. Given how teams will likely guard him early in his career, it’s something that hopefully settles into a more reasonable efficiency moving forward, but we’re nitpicking at this point. Checking every box in Year 1 is not how things work in the NBA, even for top 10 picks.
Regardless of the relatively small sample size and room for growth, CMB’s offensive game — led by his sharp decision-making — has been mightily impressive. Through all his possessions, there have been so few instances when there seemed to be a better option to than the one he chose. He’ll take open shots, attack closeouts with force and seldom hesitate to zip an extra pass.
If you ask him, Murray-Boyles says that quality stems from “trust” in his teammates. Rajakovic believes it comes from how “fearless” the rookie is. As for me, I believe it’s the youngster’s abundance of confidence and unwavering sense of self-belief.
One that was on display against the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in the season, when CMB challenged Mobley, the reigning DPOY at the basket and got denied, only to immediately go at him again less than a minute later, this time driving into an up-and-under lefty hook for the finish.
Testing an all-world defender, even once, takes gumption. Doing it right after failing takes boatloads of it. A quality we don’t see from many seasoned players, let alone one that just entered the league.
On the other side of the ball, the rookie has largely done what’s been expected, knowing Toronto drafted him “to play defence and do the little things.”
But just because he’s played up to that standard doesn’t mean it’s not worth admiring how versatile CMB has been defensively. One through five, the Raptors have been comfortable sticking the rook on any and all players.
In his first NBA game, Murray-Boyles matched up against AD and Cooper Flagg. He followed that up by guarding Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle and Wemby. Versus the Rockets, he was tasked with stopping Sengun, Steven Adams and Kevin Durant during separate, equally exhausting stretches. And just this week, the rook spent multiple possessions lined up across Kelly Oubre Jr. (who he picked clean), VJ Edgecombe, Andre Drummond and Embiid on the same night.
Largely due to how well he’s been able to navigate space — ninth amongst rookies in distance traveled defensively — as he’s one of the very few players on the Raptors who can cover ground in a pinch and put out fires, emboldening those around him to operate freely within the Raptors’ ball-pressure system. Take Saturday for instance, when the rookie met Tyrese Maxey at the hoop, after the speedy guard had slipped behind Shead for an easy run to the rim — one of the many times Murray-Boyles papered over one of his teammates’ mistakes on the night.
CMB’s magnets for hands — tied-second among freshmen in deflections (2.8) — have made up for the Raptors’ lapses on multiple occasions.
Ironically, it’s been that exact eagerness — turning into overzealousness — which has led to a handful of his own miscues. The rookie’s fixation on sniffing out defensive opportunities (he loves a blind double) has left him ball-watching, or drifting further away from his man, to the point of easy baskets for the opposition, on more than one occasion.
Murray-Boyles is undoubtedly skilled enough to take those risks — empowered by the coaching staff to do so — as he can recover in most instances. But it’s also true the more you play with fire, the likelier you are to get burned. And he has gotten singed his fair share as CMB’s 2.7 fouls per game rank fourth-highest amongst rookies.
All the while, physicality has been a double-edged sword for the youngster. Murray-Boyles has imposed himself effectively against smaller, more slender players, while struggling to manage when things have been the other way around. Although he’s found success against “bigger” opponents like Wembanaya or even Durant (I thought he did a great job against KD), who aren’t trying to outmuscle defenders as often, gargantuans and bruisers like Antetokounmpo have made CMB look less dependable.
He knows it too. Which is why, of all the note-worthy players the rookie has matched up with thus far, it was Adams who left the biggest (pun very much intended) impression.
“He’s insanely strong,” Murray-Boyles said with an exasperated laugh after his first of three starts. “My wrists are sore right now, trying to box him out and tussle with him. That’s impossible … I didn’t think it was like that, like I couldn’t move him.”
In fairness, it’s not like every team has a mammoth New Zealander, who is widely considered one of the strongest players in the NBA. And to his credit, Murray-Boyles didn’t flinch even whilst struggling against Adams, describing it as a “key experience.”
All in all, that is what the rookie’s first couple of weeks in the league have been all about. Piling up noteworthy moments, both good and bad, stemming from the Raptors’ willingness to throw Murray-Boyles directly into the flames, and his brazen confidence to face every challenge head-on.
Each possession simultaneously validating his top 10 billing following the draft, while hinting at the potential for something far greater to be forged over time.
Because where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.
