The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Chicago Bulls 123-111 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on Wednesday in their season opener. However, the win would have left the team with a sour taste in their mouth, because in the process they lost their star point guard Dejounte Murray of Seattle, Washington with a broken hand. Murray is projected to be out five to six weeks.
According to Elijah Hamilton of Fansided, Murray fell while attempting a three-pointer. At the time, Murray was guarded by Zach Lavine of the Bulls. The three-point attempt and three subsequent free throws came with two minutes and 21 seconds left in the contest. Murray made two of the three free throw attempts, and missed a 13 foot jump shot before leaving the game.
This was Murray’s first game with the Pelicans, since being traded from the Atlanta Hawks in and intriguing offseason transaction. In the deal, the Hawks received center Larry Nance Jr. of Akron, Ohio, point guard Dyson Daniels of Bendigo, Australia, and the first round pick in the 2025 and 2027 NBA Draft.
In the Pelicans win over the Bulls, Murray had a double-double as he scored 14 points, and had 10 assists. He also had eight rebounds, and one steal.
Defense is a major part of Murray’s game. He was on the 2017-18 NBA Second All-Defensive Team while with the San Antonio Spurs. Then four years later with the Spurs, Murray led the NBA with two assists per game, and 138 total steals. That same year of 2021-22, Murray was an All-Star for the only time.
