Latest on Murphy. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Murphy hit the floor hard and slid into the base of the basket support after being hacked by Dallas center Shawn Bradley in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Mavericks. The Warriors' forward, who was coughing up blood for several minutes, amazingly was able to remain in the game. However, he later left to undergo precautionary X-rays, which were negative. He was diagnosed with a bruised right lung and has been listed as day-to-day.</div>
Damn, I hope he is able to play Tuesday against the Lakers so we can continue playing the spoiler role. He is a tough guy. This was the play Murphy got hurt on:
He'll be fine. If he was tough enough to nail both free throws after suffering that kind of blunt force trauma, he should be able to play soon. I love Murphy's toughness and aggressive play and he's been fitting nicely coming off the bench when we need instant scoring and more rebounding. He truly is one of the better big men in the league and could be the complete package in a franchise star if he can play tough defense. And that's my major biff about him is that he doesn't quite fit on a team that's trying to be more defense oriented. But I've got faith in him if he works hard on the other end of the court next year. Like I said before if he can time his shotblocking better, anticipate on defense, work on his ballhandling, get his teammates involved with good passes, gain another 10 lbs of muscle, and attend more big man camps to improve his low post footwork, he could be a little like Tim Duncan. And for any Tim Duncan fans you know he ain't the most athletic player in the world, but he gets it done in devastating fashion because he's got great fundamentals, solid play at both ends of the court and he's full of strength, which all lead to high scoring, high rebounds, good number of blocks. It's a long way to go for Troy Murphy, but I think it can be done with more training and if he stays healthier than he did last offseason. After all, Murph has shown what added strength, his size, and better footwork can do for your rebounding ability. Last year he was #5 in rebounds per game (10.2) and #9 overall in double doubles (37) averaging 11.7 points per game (with Jamison & Arenas on your team). He was #14 in offensive rebounds per game. #7 in defensive rebounds per game. Murph could use the same skills for low post scoring and his defense. I only wish he had Nick Collison's athleticism but oh well, Murph can really dunk the ball.
