For the second year in a row, Trey Murphy will miss the Pelicans' home opener. Hit in the thigh, the NOLA winger will be re-evaluated in three weeks. Last year, due to a knee injury, he only started the competition at the beginning of December.
In an interview for Hoopshypehe remembers that on his return, he had been efficient. “ I shot very well. Then I had a setback, a relapse in my knee, and I had to stay on the sidelines. When I came back, I was probably bad for about two months. I wasn't shooting well at all. It was really difficult to live with because I thought I was doing everything right. »
During the month of January, during which he had to briefly return to the infirmary, his production had dropped to an average of 11 points for 38% on shots, including 29.5% from distance. He then spoke to one of his friends, a former acquaintance of the Pelicans and quite a good expert on shooting: JJ Redick.
Progress month after month
“ He simply told me that we cannot recover everything in one go, and that there will be matches where we go 3/8, 5/12 or other. And it's like, okay, I'm not going to get back to 40% in one game, but if I take these little wins, and I continue to build on that… That's the most important thing that I retained », Reports the New Orleans winger.
His patience will pay off since all his curves – average points, general address and 3-pointers – will go up month after month. Until a very accomplished month of April at almost 20 points on average with 50% shooting, including 42% behind the arc. Enough to finish his season at 38% and make him one of the team's main external threats considering his high volume of shots.
To get back on the right path, Trey Murphy III also referred to the words of Paul Pierce. “ He explained on a podcast that he was 1/13 at halftime of a game and one of his coaches asked him how he was feeling. And he responded that he felt very good, that he felt like the shots had gone in, and that he was going to go in eventually anyway. »
Feeling good despite the failures
He is probably referring here to a match where, one evening in December 2001, the former Celtics legend returned to the locker room with a 1/16 on shots… before planting 46 points subsequently on the Nets floor (48 points at 13/34 in the end).
Trey Murphy III himself remembers a game against Washington at home. “ And I think I was at 3/10, but three of those duds looked really good to me, so in my head I was at 6/10. After that, I told myself that if I felt good after the missed shots, then I knew everything would be okay. Then I started hitting shots. »
Hence the importance for him, in addition to the importance of having a “ short memory » to quickly forget the failures, to have a mind of steel: “ Shooting is probably 40% mechanics and 60% mental. The mental side is therefore the most important element. »
| Trey Murphy | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2021-22 | NOP | 62 | 14 | 39.4 | 38.2 | 88.2 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 5.4 |
| 2022-23 | NOP | 79 | 31 | 48.4 | 40.6 | 90.5 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 14.5 |
| 2023-24 | NOP | 57 | 30 | 44.3 | 38.0 | 81.5 | 0.7 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 14.8 |
| Total | 198 | 25 | 45.4 | 39.2 | 86.7 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 11.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
