Dejounte Murray has been healthy for the last few weeks for the New Orleans Pelicans, and he's looked as though he hasn't lost a single step since tearing his Achilles last January.
In addition to dropping impressive box score performances (as Hawks fans grew accustomed to during his Atlanta tenure), headlined by back-to-back 27-5-6 and 35-7-4 statlines against the Raptors and Rockets, Murray has buoyed the Pelicans in the win column.
Without Murray, the Pels are 20-42 on the year, pacing for just 26 wins. With Dejounte back in the lineup (who, notably, has started all nine appearances), they're 5-4, which would translate to approximately a 45-win pace on the year.
While Murray's return hasn't immediately flipped the Pels into a contender (despite his boisterous comments in the immediate wake of his return, setting his sights on a play-in tournament appearance), it's certainly led to a disastrous outcome for the Hawks.
Dejounte Murray's return has doomed the Hawks' lottery odds
As Hawks fans are likely keenly tracking, they own the better of the Bucks/Pels first round pick this summer. While the Bucks' side of the equation is looking delectable as ever, thanks to Giannis' continued battles with staying on the court, the Pelicans have unfortunately risen substantially in their win column.
Murray's return has seen the Pels immediately plummet to the 8th-best lottery odds. Note that they once sat as low as the 2nd-best odds behind the Washington Wizards. Dejounte's return has heralded in added tenacity on both ends of the floor for seemingly the entire roster, as they've left other lottery-prospective teams like the Grizzlies, Mavericks, and Jazz in the dust over the last few weeks.
Thankfully, the pick is still slated to have a 40.2% chance at top-4 odds, thanks to the Milwaukee Bucks' pick, only two slots below the Pelicans at present (10th-best lottery odds).
Dejounte's return has been felt most significantly in one key lineup, and it's rather unorthodox, especially when you consider what's been happening around the league over the last month or two.
Is small ball coming back?
The Pelicans have been destroying opponents when they trot out the small, versatile 5-man lineup of Dejounte, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy, Saddiq Bey, and Zion Williamson, boasting an impressive +12.2 net rating in 72 minutes played on the season since Murray's return.
Sound familiar to something else we've seen recently, Hawks fans?
The Hawks' recent "death lineup" of CJ McCollum, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu is strikingly similar. While Okongwu might have a few inches of height on Zion Williamson, this is still a small-ball squad if ever there was one. The Pelicans' 5-man lineup averages just under 6'7 in height (ranging from 6'5 to 6'8), while the Hawks' squad sits at an average of just over 6'6 (ranging from 6'3 to 6'10).
These two squads aren't alone, either. Perhaps the creme de la creme of small ball lineups has been the Charlotte Hornets' unstoppable 5-man tandem of LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate, averaging just over 6'7 in height (ranging from 6'6 to 6'10).
While Charlotte dominated Atlanta earlier this season by leveraging oversized center Ryan Kalkbrenner's size over the Porzingis-less Hawks, it was their fast-paced small ball lineup that bested Atlanta twice more in early February, having shifted to the smaller Diabate as their starting 5.
The positional versatility of all three lineups - especially Charlotte, whose shortest player in their elite lineup is 6'6 - is the true key behind each squad's success. In a league that feasts on mismatches and weak defenders through various screen actions, defensive versatility is king, especially in playoff scenarios.
While none of these three teams figure to make a deep playoff run this season, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if all three of Atlanta, Charlotte, and New Orleans opt to experiment further with their small ball lineups bleeding into the 2026-2027 campaign. Furthermore, don't be surprised if each of these squads bursts out to the top of the standings early on and inspires bigger change around the NBA. After all, it's a copycat league!