Portland Trail Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter has to get creative with his rotations as they continue to play without Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija. Kris Murray quickly exited Portland's bad loss to the Atlanta Hawks due to illness. But even when he's fully healthy, Portland can no longer afford to rely on him in a starting role.
Sharpe and Avdija are Portland's two highest scorers this season. They also unsurprisingly have the two highest usage rates on the roster. Splitter needs to realize how much the Blazers' offense suffers when these key players are out of the picture, and starting Murray only compounds that issue.
Kris Murray shouldn't be starting for the Blazers
Sharpe may not return at all this season due to a stress reaction of the left fibula. Avdija's lower back injury frustratingly continues to linger. It's not ideal circumstances, but the Blazers must overcome this adversity as they continue to fight for a playoff spot out west.
This is where coaching matters now more than ever, and Splitter is coming up short by overrelying on offensive liabilities such as Murray.
Until Portland's roster gets healthier, the four locks to start are Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant, and Donovan Clingan. That's asking a 35-year-old Holiday to do way too much of the offensive initiation. Camara is still a work in progress when it comes to playmaking and shot creation, Grant is a one-dimensional scorer, and Clingan has limitations of his own as he continues to expand his offensive arsenal.
How would the solution to this problem be throwing Murray -- a career 25% three-point shooter -- into the mix?
It's a limited sample size of the five sharing the court, but the numbers are already telling: -13.0 net rating with a -20.2 decrease in offensive rating at just 95.6, according to databallr.
Murray's potential unavailability could be a blessing in disguise, as it forces Splitter to reevaluate his options if the Iowa product were to miss Portland's next matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. But Murray shouldn't even have to be unavailable for Splitter to come to this realization.
Who should Tiago Splitter start instead?
It's apparent Portland needs more offense, particularly when it comes to shooting and playmaking. They've ranked near the bottom of the league in key categories such as three-point efficiency, assists, and turnovers throughout the season. How is Murray going to help address these issues?
This is a crucial end-of-season stretch for Portland. They are within striking distance of the eight seed, which has become somewhat more realistic to achieve after the latest Stephen Curry injury update. However, the Blazers will fail to gain ground if they can't overcome their own injuries.
This is a make-or-break time for Splitter to prove his worth as head coach and make a compelling case to keep the position heading into next season. The longer he continues to rely on Murray, the harder it is to justify bringing him back next season.
If he wants the same defensive versatility on the wing, Matisse Thybulle is proving to be impactful and healthy. He's better equipped to provide Portland with much-needed floor spacing as a 3-and-D wing relative to Murray.
Scoot Henderson is in the midst of a concerning shooting slump, so we're hesitant to suggest him. But if he were to right the ship, that's an option to consider, as he'd give Portland another ballhandler and playmaker. Holiday's positional versatility also makes it an easy transition to shooting guard.
Or, the Blazers could address their lackluster offense by giving trade deadline acquisition Vit Krejci an increased role. His floor spacing and underrated court vision give Portland's offense another dimension they've lacked throughout their rebuild.
These are all alternatives Splitter must consider. Whether it's a 3-and-D upgrade in Thybulle, added playmaking in Scoot, or added shooting in Krejci, the Blazers have to try something different. Their current formula of starting Kris Murray is only exacerbating a glaring roster problem.