Murphy Deserves More

First appeared on April 8th, 2009
in The Lebanon Reporter

The Pacers had lost five straight games before, in an apparent last ditch effort to catch the surging Chicago Bulls for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, they won 4 of their next 7. With all hands on deck (except injured small forward Marquis Daniels) the Pacers are furiously bailing water from the ship that many experts doomed quite some time ago. While some wonder aloud if saving the ship is the right move, out of respect for Commissioner David Stern and the integrity of professional basketball itself (note this as the first and last time the words integrity and professional basketball will most likely ever appear in the same sentence), the Pacers are there with buckets in hand.
But alas amidst injury rashes, intimations of a bankruptcy forced relocation and the bulging shadow of Jamaal Tinsley’s future one man has stood tall for the Pacers all season. Of course I’m referring to Troy Murphy, and by “stood tall” I don’t mean because he’s 6-11- rather his play from opening night until the present has risen above the rest. While Danny Granger has blossomed into an All-Star and looks to be the closest thing the Pacers have had to a franchise player in quite some time he has also missed several games to injury which makes Murphy the unquestioned most valuable player for the Pacers this year.
On the season Murph is averaging 14 points and a career high 12 rebounds. He is also shooting an impressive 44% from 3 point range (also a career best mark). His play to this point has him ranked third in the league amongst rebounders and seventh overall in three point efficiency. Murphy has notched an impressive 47 double doubles on the season and has twice snagged over 20 rebounds in a single game. It can be said with a comfortable level of certainty that no man has shown more dedication to cleaning the glass than Troy has shown this year, except perhaps Dennis Rodman or Alice from the Brady Bunch.
Couple this rebounding prowess with his affinity for dialing from long distance and it’s as if Murphy has morphed into a modern day version of former Detroit Piston Bill Laimbeer. The two share more in common than just being one time Notre Dame stand outs, of course the one large and obvious difference between them is that there isn’t a never-ending queue of players lined up on a nightly basis ready for their chance to take Murphy’s head off. For those of you banging your own heads against the table in an effort to shake out thoughts of the “Bad Boys” and their ugly brand of basketball, the comparison with Laimbeer isn’t all that bad. After all, despite being one of the most hated men to ever step foot on the hardwood in the NBA, Bill is also one of the few to have scored 10,000 points and corral 10,000 rebounds.
So as the Pacer’s ship lists helplessly in the water ready to surrender for another season, Murphy’s lanky 245 pound frame is there bailing furiously with the rest of his teammates. And when the water crests his crooked nose and it becomes vividly apparent that it’s time for anything (golfing, fishing, crocheting, mountain climbing, wingsuit flying) besides playoff basketball Murphy should be recognized for his outstanding season. This recognition should come in the form of his being named team MVP. Though I’m not well versed in the official Pacer protocol for bestowing that award upon someone, this doesn’t mean it still shouldn’t happen; let the coronation commence.