Trey Murphy's Value for Pelicans Made Obvious in His Absence

The New Orleans Pelicans are in the midst of another extended losing streak. Just when it seemed like the Pels had turned a corner and things were looking up ahead of the final stretch of the season, they lost four games in a row. The last two, against the Pistons and the Raptors, were particularly disheartening losses, with the team looking helpless on the offensive side of the ball.

A big reason for their offensive struggles in the last 96 minutes of action was the absence of Trey Murphy. The 25-year-old forward was ruled out in back-to-back games with an ankle sprain, and the Pelicans have missed their sharpshooter.

Trey Murphy Proves His Worth to the Pelicans in Absence

Without Murphy, the Pelicans severely lack shooting. Not only in terms of accuracy, but the Pelicans also don't have players who can simply get up threes in volume. Murphy leads the Pelicans in the number of three-point attempts and makes per game, hitting 38.3% on 8.7 threes. His ability to take them off-the-dribble, spot-up, in transition, or while moving adds an element to the Pelicans' offense that can't be replaced.

The Pelicans hit nine threes against the Pistons and only seven against the Raptors. More concerning was the number of attempts, 25 and 28, respectively. Per Cleaning the Glass, the three-point attempt frequency in both of these games was in the bottom-tenth percentile of Pelicans' games this season.

Not being able to generate enough threes has ripple effects for the offense. When there aren't enough shooters that the defenses have to respect, they can pack the paint and send help more aggressively. It cramps the space and makes it difficult to get to the basket as drivers have to face multiple defenders.

As a result, the Pelicans had two of their lowest offensive ratings in the last two games. The 107.5 points per 100 possessions against Detroit and 103.2 points against Toronto were the two worst offensive games by New Orleans since the March 3rd loss against the Lakers. Before then, one has to go all the way back to February 2nd to find a game where the Pelicans had a worse offensive rating than they did last night.

The Pelicans desperately need more shooting. Dejounte Murray, Zion Williamson, Jeremiah Fears, and Derik Queen are all better with the ball in their hands than not. So, New Orleans has to surround them with as many off-ball players who can shoot as possible. Murphy plays a crucial role for this team because of his ability to thrive as an off-ball shooting threat. Without him, the Pelicans are a shell of themselves, highlighting the importance of the emerging star for this team.