Pelicans Injury Report vs. Blazers: Trey Murphy Still Dealing With Ankle Issue

The New Orleans Pelicans have six games left in the regular season, but not much to play for. They may not be intentionally tanking like the rest of the non-playoff teams, but the Pels have not been competitive in recent games, dropping five in a row. Their schedule is not letting up just yet, as they go to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on Thursday night.

Unlike the Pels, the Trail Blazers have a ton to play for. They are half a game behind the LA Clippers in the race for the No. 8 seed. They will push as hard as they can to continue their pursuit of a playoff spot. However, they will be without a couple of key rotation players.

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Jerami Grant, Vit Krejci, and Shaedon Sharpe continue to be sidelined in addition to Damian Lillard who hasn’t played all season. But the Blazers are 6-2 in their last eight games, and are surging at the right time.

Trey Murphy Remains Questionable vs. Blazers on Thursday

The Pelicans, on the other hand, will be without Karlo Matkovic and Bryce McGowens, who have been ruled out with back spasms and a toe fracture, respectively. More importantly, however, Trey Murphy remains on the injury report. The 25-year-old forward missed the Pelicans’ last three games with an ankle sprain and is listed as questionable ahead of Thursday night.

This is disappointing, considering that the Pelicans haven’t played since Sunday night. They had plenty of extra rest between games, and given that Murphy was questionable to begin with over the weekend, one would have assumed that he would be off the injury list by now. Yet, he should be considered a game-time decision.

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Without Murphy, the Pelicans have struggled immensely on the offensive side of the ball, averaging a miserable 105.5 offensive rating in the last three games, per Cleaning the Glass. The Pels ended up losing these games by a combined 66 points. It’s safe to assume that New Orleans will struggle once again if Murphy doesn’t suit up in Portland.

Fortunately, Dejounte Murray doesn’t appear on the injury report. He has yet to play both legs of a back-to-back this season, and the Pelicans play tomorrow night against the Kings. One has to think that Murray will sit out against Sacramento instead. Against the Blazers, however, he should have no minutes restrictions. If New Orleans has any shot of pulling off an upset, especially if Murphy is sidelined, they need Murray to have a big offensive game.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/pelicans/onsi as Pelicans Injury Report vs. Blazers: Trey Murphy Still Dealing With Ankle Issue.