There are reasons to believe the Pelicans can stay afloat while Murray is injured, starting with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

Either way, Powell will be the second option next to James Harden for as long as Kawhi Leonard is out. When Leonard returns, Powell will likely revert to a sixth man role. A 17-point, four-assist opener in Phoenix is a good start for this trend line, and Powell did this while going 1 of 7 from 3 (he’s a 39.4 percent career shooter from distance).

Portland had one more chance, it got the ball to Simons in the backcourt and let him pick up a head of steam going to the rim, but Herb Jones defended took away an easy lane and that gave Zion Williamson an angle to make the game-saving block.