Credits: X
Pelicans' highest-profile addition, Dejounte Murray, fractured his hand during the fourth quarter of New Orleans' season opening night against Chicago Bulls. Murray, who finished the game with 14 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, and only one turnover, skipped media following the game. On Thursday, he was supposed to undergo tests to determine how serious the injury was and how long he might be out.
New Orleans were ahead 119-107 at the end of the fourth quarter when the injury seemed to happen. When Bulls forward Zach LaVine stepped on his landing area, he lost his balance and fell hard, braced by his hands. Murray was obviously in discomfort, even though he earned a foul. He continued to play until the one-minute mark and continued to make his free throws.
Watch it here:
In June, Murray was the new addition to the Pelicans, who sent guard Dyson Daniels and centre Larry Nance Jr., both first-round draft picks, to the Atlanta Hawks. However, Pelicans guard CJ McCollum is optimistic about Murray's return soon. “Hopefully, he’s not out too long. “He looked at me and said his hand didn’t feel right,” McCollum said. “He just continued to play. He battled through, and he played and played well, considering those circumstances.”
Murray sidelined for an extended period
As of this writing, the reports claim that the imagining test confirms a left-hand fracture, which resulted in Murray’s halt from the game for a longer period. Even before his Wednesday injury, Murray's availability for the season opener was in question since he had left the team a few days before attending to what coach Willie Green described as a family situation. The question remains whether Murray will join the team for Friday’s match.
“Dejounte had a rough week,” McCollum said. “He played well, considering he’d been gone for so long. “He flirted with a triple-double tonight,” McCollum added. "He was great for us and will be great for us all season.”
Murray helped New Orleans by overcoming the absence of Zion Williamson, a great power forward, who was rested due to sickness. New Orleans will play its next on Friday night at the Portland. The Pelicans have a respectable amount of backcourt depth and can get by for a while without the absence of Murray since CJ McCollum can run point and Jose Alvarado is a more than good backup,
