After two injury-riddled seasons, New Orleans Pelicans fans are finally set to see a healthy Dejounte Murray, who has only played 45 games in his Pelicans career.
The Pelicans have been in a rough way over the past two seasons, winning just 47 total games and missing the playoffs by a country mile both times. The immediate thing that gets blamed for the poor results New Orleans has been suffering is the injury bug. But hand in hand with that issue was the franchise not having an All-Star-caliber point guard healthy for his first two seasons in New Orleans.
Now that Murray is healthy and primed for a big return, Pelicans fans should be excited that after three offseasons of waiting, they’ll finally get a look at a healthy version of their lead guard.
The wait is almost over
So what can a healthy Murray bring to the table? My answer: a lot.
The most important thing he brings is structure. Murray has been around the league for a long time, played with a ton of great players, and specifically point guards. His processing ability and playmaking talent make him the type of guard that you’d dream to have running pick-and-rolls, and offense centered around a talent like Zion Williamson.
What makes his playmaking so lethal in the pick-and-roll is that Murray thrives on scoring downhill and at the rim, which creates a tough decision for defenders when defending the roll man.
We saw the Pelicans look lost about how to react or what to do both in the clutch and when a play was blown up. That’s something Murray can change.
He knows how to salvage possessions when a defense blows up a set late in the shot clock, and you need to react fast. He also showed in his last season with the Hawks that he is confident and capable of making shots at the end of games. For a team that lost nearly 20 games by five or fewer points last season, having someone a coach can trust with the ball in the clutch or when things don’t go according to plan will be huge.
On top of the offensive juice he can bring, Murray is a very good on-ball defender. He has active hands, mucks up steals, and can create fast break opportunities, which the Pelicans thrive in. Murray is also an elite rebounder for the guard position with a career average of 5.8 rebounds per game. New Orleans did struggle at times to close out defensive possessions on the glass, and now with Murray healthy, they have a guy who can not only help with that but also immediately start the fast break.
In his last healthy year, Murray averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.7 stocks (steals plus blocks) per game while shooting 36.3 percent from three. If that is anywhere close to the stat line he brings to the table for the Pelicans this season, his healthy debut will be well worth the wait.
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