Pelicans Announce The Final Playing Status For Trey Murphy and Herb Jones Ahead of Tonight's Game vs Atlanta

The Pelicans had listed both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy as questionable ahead of tonight's game vs Atlanta

Oct 29, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones (2) dribbles the ball up court under pressure from Denver Nuggets forward Cam Johnson (23) in the first quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans are in town to face the Atlanta Hawks and they are on the second night of a back to back, as they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. The loss to the Lakers was the eighth straight for New Orleans and they have the second worst record in the NBA.

Ahead of tonight's game vs the Hawks, New Orleans listed both Trey Murphy (back) and Herb Jones (ankle) as questionable. Both players just had their status updated for tonight's game. Both players are going to be out tonight, a big blow to the Pelicans' hopes of getting a win on the road.

For the Hawks, Trae Young is out and Onyeka Okongwu is as well. This is going to be the sixth straight missed game for Young.

Hawks Need to Win

The Hawks need to win this game tonight for multiple reasons. For starters, they don't want to fall completely out of the play-in/playoff race and second, they own the Pelicans draft pick next summer. Currently, the Pelicans have the second worst record in the NBA and are on an eight game losing streak.

Our own Rohan Raman had this to say about tonight's matchup:

"In their last two games, the Hawks went against one of the best defenses in the NBA and were totally unprepared for the physicality that the Raptors played with. Toronto is 8th in opponent points in the paint, indicating how they were capable of closing off the paint for Atlanta despite the lack of a true center. The matchup gets a lot easier tonight. The Pelicans don't have a true rim protector on the roster, and as a result, they're 28th in opponent points in the paint. It's an excellent opportunity for Onyeka Okongwu, who unfortunately missed the last game against New Orleans with an ankle injury. He's shooting an above-average 72% at the rim this season.

One of the keys to Atlanta's win against the Pelicans earlier this season was turnovers. They decisively won the turnover battle, 18-7, and that played a massive role in their ability to control the game. Jeremiah Fears has been an overall positive for New Orleans, but he does have a TOV% of 13.8% (33rd percentile among all guards). Queen, who leads the Pelicans in AST%, also has an extremely high TOV% of 16.2% (25th percentile among all bigs). If they can replicate that formula against New Orleans tonight, this could be a blowout.

Kristaps Porzingis will be in the lineup for the Hawks again tonight, and that is a major positive for the Hawks, considering how excellent he was against the Pelicans in their last game. Porzingis led all scorers with 30 points on a blistering 11-17 shooting line in that game and also chipped in 7 rebounds to go with four assists on zero turnovers. They had no answer for him, and there's every reason for him to bounce back after a quiet showing against Toronto."