The New Orleans Pelicans‘ hopeless season continues. The off-season hype on Zion Williamson’s fitness created a huge expectation around the team’s standing in the West. But it went into shambles after the so-called talisman suffered a hamstring injury. Following that, the team has lost every single game that Brandon Ingram has missed and he is yet to recover from his low ankle sprain. Amid this situation, one of their offensive leaders, Trey Murphy III, exited the floor tonight with an ankle injury, leaving the fans in dismay.

During the Sunday night matchup against the Denver Nuggets at home, Murphy rolled his ankle during a rebound attempt in the third quarter. Importantly, the team announced that the star won’t return for the rest of the game. This marks the Pels’ third offensive spearhead out with an injury.

A fan perfectly summarized the Pelicans’ situation, writing, “We can’t catch a break.” Last season, Zion Williamson played a career-high 70 games and the team also reached the playoffs. While everyone expected him to double down on his efforts this time, given the hype on his fitness, he has only played 6 games so far. There’s no sign of his return yet!

On the other hand, the Pels have a 0-11 record in Brandon Ingram‘s absence. Above all, trade rumors suggest that both players may be on their way out of New Orleans before the deadline. Additionally, BI switched his agency to Klutch Sports, increasing the stakes for a possible trade. Amid this situation, the team faces yet another worrisome injury with their trusted forward, Trey Murphy III.

Pels Nation’s meltdown as Trey Murphy III joins Zion Williamson and BI

Despite losing Zion and Ingram, the Pels had three offensive forces on the team, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, and Trey Murphy. You might wonder, why didn’t the Pels have a stable record then? Because initially, Murray suffered a left-hand fracture and missed 18 games. Before he could make a return, the team already lost Zion and Ingram. Now, the cycle seems to repeat with Murphy. Reading the pattern, a fan concerningly wrote, “Hopefully, it’s not too serious.” 

Another fan wrote, “Get well soon. Goat.” While we address the “Goat” part later, let’s focus on the injury. The team hasn’t revealed the nature of the injury and the news will be out only after the team takes an MRI scan. If it’s a tear or a fracture, the fans can’t witness the star for at least a month. However, if it’s just a strain, Murphy will maximum miss three weeks of action. Hopefully, it’s the latter. 

Anyway, coming back to the “Goat” part, Trey Murphy III has put up a career-high performance, averaging 19.2 ppg this season. And a fan rightly pointed out, writing, “Damn bro was ballin.” Especially, in the last few games, the star was flying around the rim, dunking and ally-hooping the ball. Notably, in the last five games, he’s averaged a super-lethal 23.2 ppg with a high score of 28 points, shooting at 50% FG. Unfortunately, this serious effort has been cut short.

And guess what? A fan right predicted, writing, “Nuggets the luckiest team bro.” Before tonight’s game, the Pelicans faced the Nuggets and defeated them, but Nikola Jokić wasn’t on the playing roster that night. Tonight, they had a healthy roster and faced the shorthanded Pels. But Murphy kept the team under check with consistent efforts. However, things took a wild turn after the star’s exit.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t a walk in the park, as the game went into overtime and the Nuggets took home a 129-132 win. Would the results have been different if Trey Murphy III stayed on the court? Let us know!