Dejounte Murray
Murray is New Orleans' veteran point guard and started the opener, but the club has scheduled him out for Saturday's game against the Hawks (personal), and how he fits next to Jeremiah Fears is the open question.
Role
Per NBC Sports (Oct 21), he was in the opening-night starting five with Jeremiah Fears, Trey Murphy, Zion Williamson and Yves Missi, and Fears was listed as his backup. ESPN's game log shows 30, 35, 30 and 34 minutes across his four games, 32.3 per game, and ESPN's last-10 line has 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Rotowire notes that his opening-night 34 minutes led the team. He has missed time already: a hand injury kept him out of at least one earlier game, and NBC lists a toe bruise from the preseason. Fears is the main competitor for ball-handling work. I did not find a confirmed return date or the reason behind the personal absence, and I could not confirm the current starting lineup after the Denver game on Oct 28.
He is healthy and produced right away. The Rotowire recap of the opener has him leading the team in minutes, points, assists, steals and blocks. He is playing 30-plus minutes as the lead guard on a young roster. He had a 22-point, 6-rebound, 6-assist game at Denver and a 3-steal game at Utah. The Pelicans are 0-4 in his games, so nothing suggests the club wants to cut his role.
The availability concerns are real. He is coming off a torn Achilles and has already been hurt several times this season. He now has a personal absence on top of that. His efficiency is shaky: ESPN shows him at 20% from three and about 2.8 turnovers per game over four games, including a 10-point, 36% night against Denver. A Yahoo-linked headline says he doesn't fit with Fears, and a separate item floats him as a Suns trade target. I read only the headlines, not the articles, and neither is a confirmed move.
Where analysts split
Whether Murray and Fears can share the floor, and whether Murray keeps the starting job if coach Jamahl Mosley has to choose. The SI preseason projection had him at 22 minutes off the bench with Fears starting. The NBC Sports starting-lineup note had Murray starting, with Fears as the backup. Separately, a Yahoo-linked headline says he doesn't fit with Fears.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at PG
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