It has bene another disappointing season thus far for the New Orleans Pelicans as they currently find themselves sitting 13th in the Western Conference standings with a 19-44 record.
New Orleans has been stuck in a rebuild over the past handful of seasons, though they have built a solid young core led by Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears.
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Of course, the main issue for the Pelicans over the past handful of seasons has been the health of their players as they have had multiple key pieces miss extended periods due to injuries.
One player who has missed time this season due to injuries is Murphy III, though he did recently return from a right shoulder contusion that caused him to miss five games.
Trey Murphy III Reveals What He Has Done to Stay Healthy
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Earlier this week, Murphy III sat down with EssentiallySports’ Mark Medina where he shared what he has done to try and stay healthy down the line.
“I’ve been working on my PT (physical therapy),” Murphy III said. “I hired a PT this year. It has paid dividends for me. I’m continuing to do my work there so I can stay on the court. It’s about being smart. That’s the biggest thing. It’s kind of funny. KD (Kevin Durant) had said something, ‘You know things are out of control when there are players that are diving at your legs and stuff like that.’ You got to be cautious of those people. You obviously have to try to win the game and still be competitive. But it’s about being smart about avoiding people that are a little reckless.”
It is clear that Murphy III is doing everything he can to stay healthy after missing time due to injuries over the past few seasons and he is in line to play the most games since the 2022-23 season as he has already suited up for 54 games this season.
Trey Murphy III Opens Up on Mental Challenges of Shoulder Surgery Recovery
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Of course, the 25-year-old forward is also coming off a major shoulder injury that cut last season short for him and in the interview with Medina, he opened up about the mental challenges of battling back after having shoulder surgery last March.
“Yeah, it was tough specifically because it was my shooting shoulder” Murphy III said. “I got off surgery in March. I didn’t start shooting the basketball until July. So it was a long time with not being able to shoot a basketball. So it’s tough mentally because you never know during that process if you were going to get back to where you were with shooting the basketball. I’m thankful that it went through very well.”
It is clear that Murphy III was worried about his shot after recovering from shoulder surgery, though it has not been an issue this season as he is averaging a career-high 22.0 points per game and has become an emerging star for New Orleans.
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For Murphy III and the rest of the Pelicans’ roster, they will now try to end the season on a high note as they try to turn the franchise around in the future.
