Trey Murphy III Upgraded to Probable, Giving the Pelicans a Desperately Needed Lifeline
Underdog NBA: 'Trey Murphy III (knee) listed probable for Wednesday.'
is listed as probable for Wednesday with a knee issue, which is basically a clean bill of health in the New Orleans ' cinematic universe.
Underdog NBA reported the upgrade on Tuesday, meaning fantasy managers and prop bettors can finally exhale. When Murphy is actually on the floor, he completely scrambles the usage rates and spacing for New Orleans, turning a stagnant offense into something that actually resembles modern basketball.
The man has been an absolute bucket when his body cooperates. We are talking about a guy who dropped a career-high 42 points on the Los Angeles earlier this calendar year and was averaging over 34 points during a ridiculous two-game heater. He shoots over 40 percent from deep on high volume, which is exactly the kind of gravity you need to keep defenses from packing the paint.
But tracking his availability requires a medical degree. Over the last couple of years, Murphy has dealt with bilateral patella tendinopathy, back spasms, ankle sprains, and a torn labrum that required major shoulder surgery. Spending your offseason rehabbing a shoulder just to have your knees immediately start acting up is a cruel joke from the basketball gods. It is like fixing the transmission on your car only for the engine to instantly explode.
The desperately need his perimeter shooting and defensive versatility right now. Their wing rotation gets dangerously thin without him, forcing them to lean on guys who should probably be playing backup minutes. You cannot just drive into a set defense in today's league and hope for the best without shooters to punish the drop coverage.
Assuming the knee holds up through shootaround, expect Murphy to suit up on Wednesday. He might face a slight minutes restriction out of the gate, but just having his jersey active is the best news New Orleans could ask for to get their rotation back on track.