New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season after tearing his Achilles on Friday night against the Boston Celtics.
Murray had played the first eight minutes of the game when the injury occurred, collecting an offensive rebound off his own miss on a drive to the basket.
Boston went on to win a thrilling contest 118-116 after Jayson Tatum hit the game-winner with 0.2 seconds remaining.
Dejounte Murray was helped to the locker room after suffering an apparent non-contact injury on this play
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— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2025
Achilles, Fractured Hand Ruin First Season In New Orleans
Murray was acquired by the Pelicans from the Atlanta Hawks this summer for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller, E.J. Liddell, and two future first-round picks.
Life in New Orleans for Murray has gotten off to a rocky start to say the least.
The 28-year-old missed the first month of the season due to a fractured left hand suffered on opening night.
In 30 games this season, Murray averaged 17.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 2.1 steals. His scoring efficiency was way down at 44.6 percent on two-pointers and 29.9 percent from beyond the arc.
His effective field goal percentage of 44.7 percent is the lowest of his career.
Pelicans’ Season Of Doom Continues
After the acquisition of Murray, there was optimism the Pelicans could be a problem in the West if Zion Williamson could be adequately healthy.
Fast forward 49 games into the season and Murray, Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, and Jose Alvarado have all spent time on the shelf. Herbert Jones is currently out indefinitely with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
That pretty much explains the 12-37 record.
Alvarado will now likely step into a starting role where he has been quite effective, averaging 15.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.6 steals in seven starts.
Seeing a boost in playing time against the Celtics Friday night, Alvarado finished with 20 points, three rebounds, six assists, one steal, and a block in 34 minutes.
Yves Missi has probably been the brightest spot from the season with his emergence and it’ll be interesting to see who else maximizes their opportunity as the Pelicans’ season drifts solely towards focusing on ping pong balls.
