Pelicans’ Dejounte Murray Suffers Fractured Hand, Will Miss Extended Time
The Talented Guard Took a Hit While Shooting a Three in the Fourth Quarter of the Season Opener
A Huge Loss
New Orleans’ All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray will miss a significant number of NBA games after he suffered a fractured hand in the Pelicans’ season-opening victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Fracture Fells Murray
It was late in the fourth quarter of the Pelicans season opener when Dejounte Murray attempted a three-point shot, only to be fouled by the Bulls Zach LaVine. It appeared to be a routine foul, and nothing more than a trip to the charity stripe wouldn’t cure the 28-year-old sharpshooter.
Unfortunately for Murray, the foul and his subsequent trip to the floor made NBA news and proved to be far more costly as he sustained a fractured hand and, according to NBA rumors, will likely cause him to be out for an extended period of time.
New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray is feared to have a fractured left hand, sources tell ESPN. Difficult opening night injury for Pelicans and Murray, who posted 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in season-opening victory over Chicago. pic.twitter.com/JcDxdoSCKd
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 24, 2024
“Hopefully, he’s not out too long,” Pelicans guard CJ McCollum said after the game. “He looked at me and said his hand didn’t feel right. He just continued to play. … He battled through; he played and played well considering those circumstances.”
Dejounte Murray’s stats after the game revealed he nearly achieved a triple-double in his season debut with 14 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds in the team’s 123-111 win over Chicago. New Orleans will now make the trip to Portland, where they will take on the Trail Blazers in back-to-back contests at the Moda Center on Friday and Sunday.
123 points for the fellas. 29 assists. 15 steals. 10 blocks. team hoops.@B_Ingram13: 33p/7r/2a/2s/1b@CJMcCollum: 23p/2r/5a/1s/1b@DejounteMurray: 14p/8r/10a/1s@golive23: 13p/7r/1a/1b@Yves_missi: 12p/7r/1a/3b/1s#Pelicans | @FDSportsbook pic.twitter.com/wi1fgn0SnX
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 24, 2024
Big Price to Pay
Facilitating the Dejounte Murray trade in the offseason and incorporating him into the Pelicans’ top-tier caliber roster came at a costly price for the team. New Orleans gave up Dyson Daniels, E.J. Liddell, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller (via sign-and-trade), and two future first-round draft picks to acquire the services of the talented guard.
Therefore, a loss of this magnitude so early in the season will be quite an adjustment for the Pelicans, and in a twist of irony, Murray almost missed the season opener due to what head coach Willie Green described as a family emergency.
“Dejounte had a rough week,” McCollum said. “He played well considering he’d been gone for so long.
“He basically flirted with a triple-double tonight,” McCollum added. ”He was great for us and will be great for us all season.”
“My chances ain’t like that other guy’s. I feel like I only got one.”⁰⁰@DejounteMurray is creating his own destiny 🫡⁰⁰ALL THE SMOKE with the New Orleans Pelicans point guard: https://t.co/CNEalom8Jz pic.twitter.com/SLcUSNe6p4
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) October 22, 2024
Third-year veteran Jose Alvarado and second-year player Antonio Reeves will see more playing time in the coming weeks and months unless the Pelicans swing a deal for a more seasoned guard to replace Murray until he returns.