Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III officially out of shooting slump

Shooting slump? What shooting slump? That nonsense should never be mentioned around Trey Murphy III after a huge night helping Brandon Ingram lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 129-102 win over the Indiana Pacers. The third-year sharpshooter might have been a little off-target earlier in the season, but that’s understandable. Murphy III is coming off a major knee surgery, his first big injury setback since starting basketball. However, any hesitation or residual rust looks to be long gone now.

The Pelicans have a difficult path to a top-six seed, but the Virginia alum looks locked in at just the right time. Not only are the NBA Playoffs just around the corner, but the 23-year-old is eligible for a nine-figure max-level rookie scale contract extension this summer. Murphy III finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and an assist in the blowout win over the Pacers. He was 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-12 from three-point range. Third-year head coach Willie Green could not be happier.

“Trey was great. He’s understanding what teams are trying to do to him,” Green explained, “When he has a shot he takes it. Now he is shot faking and driving, going on to finish or swinging it to a teammate. When he is hitting shots like that it is demoralizing for the other team. It’s great to see him once again, along with some of our other guys, put together a few (good) games.”

The fan-favorite known as Trigga Trey was honestly never worried about a slump, though. Murphy III had a ‘this too shall pass’ attitude the entire time. The math always works out.

“I knew (the shooting) was going to come back. It’s the law of large numbers, that’s really all it is,” Murphy III said. “(The three-point percentage) is going to go back to where it’s supposed to be. You’ll have your ebbs and flows. You may go lower than what you’re natural mean is, and you might be higher some days. You put the work in and trust it to stay confident then you’re going to get where you’re supposed to be.”

Pelicans press room gets surprise visitor

Momma Albeda Murphy crashed the post-game press scrum to press Trey on a few bothersome missed free throws. Murphy III wanted to move along to the next question immediately, but no one in the room dared to interrupt the proud, hilarious mother.

“Yeah, I have to make free throws obviously,” Murphy III admitted bashfully. “Just not rush and get too excited so yup, next question please.”

He was a bit more serious when discussing the mental approach when the shots were not falling. The trick is apparently to not even think about shooting.

“I think for me, it’s just that I have stopped focusing on just shooting the ball. It should be second nature for me because I’ve done it my entire life,” Murphy III shared. “My biggest focus has been to rebound the ball and just not think when I’m out there. I think that’s been the biggest thing for me coming out of the All-Star break. Relaxing, taking a deep breath, and just understanding I have so many more pieces to my game. Now I’m just focusing on playing physically, rebounding the ball, and getting teammates involved. Then it’s just let the chip fall where they may.”

Trey Murphy III primed for a postseason run

Murphy III has accounted for 65 points, 18 rebounds, 12 assists, and four steals while shooting over 45% from beyond the arc over the past three games. He was a putrid 9-35 from the field and 6-26 from three-point range in the three games preceding the current hot streak. Ingram was the headliner at home against the Pacers but Murphy III also made a statement in the most win and loss.

“I thought we just had an off day (in Indiana)” Murphy III declared, “I think that helped us rejuvenate, fill our cups up as coach Green said. “Really, we just shared the ball and played with a lot of confidence, a lot of force.”

As for himself, Murphy III gave a confident self-styled scouting report.

“I just know I’m a complete basketball player,” boasted Murphy III. “I understand that I do not want to be a one-trick pony. I want to make sure teams have to guard me honestly. I don’t want it to be a situation where it’s just denying me the ball and then I’m out. I want to make sure I have a lot of different facets to my game.”

The Pelicans pulled into a tie with the Phoenix Suns for fifth place with the victory. New Orleans is now three wins and 1.5 games ahead of the Sacramento Kings for the last spot above the NBA Play-In Tournament cutoff line. Thankfully, Murphy III got over a slight case of the yips before the stretch run hit high gear.