As the New Orleans Pelicans navigate a critical stretch of the season, a rejuvenated Zion Williamson didn't need a lengthy scouting report to explain the impact of Dejounte Murray's return to the lineup. The All-Star and longest tenured player in the locker room only needed one word.
Fans in the Smoothie King can feel it too.
“Intensity,” Williamson stressed. “The intensity he's been bringing to the game, and not just the game but practice, has been off the charts. It's been great for this team. So, you know, long story short, his intensity has done numbers for us.”
The numbers back Williamson up. In his first 10 games back, Murray is averaging 18.7 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 52.7% from the field and 34% from 3-point range.
New Orleans is 5-5 with Murray in the starting lineup but 9-5 overall since his return, a stretch that has revived optimism around a franchise that spent much of the season searching for stability.
James Borrego has credited Murray's presence with transforming the team‘s defensive identity.
“So we're contesting more shots, there's more physicality, and we have more size on the floor. We've put bigger, more athletic size on the floor,” Borrego explained. “We're more switchable, and taking away the easy stuff.”
Borrego pointed to some of the league's recent success stories as a blueprint, noting that sustainable improvement tends to start with defense.
“That's the one thing we said around the All-Star break, and we had this discussion with our team,” Borrego shared. “When you look at the teams that have made significant jumps from literally within one year or two years, Detroit, Phoenix, you can go down the line, Houston, Boston, they've done it through their defense. Those top 10 teams that are moving the needle in the Western Conference have done it through their defense.”
With Murray back running the offense, the Pelicans have leaned into that formula. His pace control and on-ball pressure have translated into more contested possessions and fewer easy scoring opportunities for opponents. And if Williamson’s assessment holds, the foundation is less about scheme and more about tone.
Intensity, as it turns out, is contagious.
