New Orleans Pelicans: Trey Murphy III may be key to unlocking small ball

The New Orleans Pelicans stayed undefeated in Summer League, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 87-74 behind an interesting night from Trey Murphy III.

Murphy III has done a little of everything in Summer League, showing he can knock down long-range shots, rebound and defend up and down the lineup.

He only had seven points and hit just one of his six 3-point attempts, but Murphy III showed a skill that could help the New Orleans Pelicans down the line.

I thought there would be some interesting matchups in this game, but none more so than Murphy III trying to stop fellow rookie Evan Mobley, his biggest challenge so far in Summer League.

Mobley was the 3rd pick in the draft, and stands at 7-foot-1, but since he plays forward we knew 3M3 would get some time on him.

Not only did Trey Murphy III hold his own, but he showed he might be a weapon for the Pelicans when the games get real.

New Orleans Pelicans: Trey Murphy III could be the key to small ball

“Small ball” has been all the rage since the Golden State Warriors unleashed their “Lineup of Death” on their way to winning multiple titles.

Nearly all teams have some version of it now, as they will try to put a smaller, quicker team on the floor to increase offense and pace.

This relies on having a guy who can defend up, usually a wing who can defend power forwards and centers without getting totally killed.

The New Orleans Pelicans tried this some last season, usually with Josh Hart, and got mixed results, as Hart was often stuck trying to body guys who were considerably taller.

Trey Murphy III is 6-foot-9 and has incredible length, so as he continues to put on strength, could be the guy who gets the center assignments if the Pels want to go small.

Though Murphy III wasn’t on Mobley all game, he did check him for a good portion of it and was able to help hold him to 4-of-11 shooting, which is promising.

Not all power forwards are as skinny as Mobley, so this won’t work against anyone, but the Pels finally have a couple of big wings in Murphy III and Naji Marshall who should allow them to go small and take advantage of the mismatches Zion Williamson creates.