Trey Murphy III Ruled Out Monday as Pelicans' Injury Carousel Spins Again

The New Orleans Pelicans simply cannot have nice things. Just when it looked like Trey Murphy III was finding his rhythm, Underdog NBA reported that the wing is officially out for Monday night with a knee issue.

If you feel like you have read this exact update before, your brain is working perfectly. Murphy's medical chart over the last few years reads like a WebMD drop-down menu, featuring everything from patellar and hamstring issues to random neck and elbow soreness.

""Trey Murphy III (knee) listed out Monday." - @UnderdogNBA"

The timing is especially brutal because he just looked fantastic. Murphy dropped 26 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes during Sunday's 139-123 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sitting him on the second night of a back-to-back might just be standard management for a guy with his history, but it still completely changes the math for New Orleans.

When Murphy actually laces them up, he is a certified problem. He is logging around 33 minutes a night this season and putting up over 15 points and four boards a game. That is a dip from his massive 21.5-point campaign last year, but his high-volume shooting is the exact kind of gravity modern offenses desperately need to function.

For anyone staring at a sportsbook or a fantasy lineup, pulling a guy who plays over 30 minutes a night is a massive swing. Oddsmakers have to bake his shooting gravity into the point spread, and his absence completely changes how opposing defenses rotate against the rest of the Pelicans' roster.

Let us not forget this is the same guy who had the Most Improved Player award practically gift-wrapped a couple of years ago, only to lose his eligibility because he stalled out at 53 games played under the league's 65-game rule. The talent has never been the question. The question is always whether his body will let him stay on the court.

Assuming this is just a precautionary rest day for the knee, expect Murphy to slide right back into his usual heavy workload later this week. Until then, New Orleans fans will just have to go back to holding their breath every time a player lands awkwardly.