Entering this season, some thought the New Orleans Pelicans had a “too many guys” problem. Now, as a result of a seemingly endless string of injuries — or perhaps some kind of curse — they can barely field a team.
When they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, they will be without their top seven players, as Brandon Ingram (bilateral ankle sprain) and Trey Murphy III (right hamstring strain) were. added to the injury report this morning and Zion Williamson (strained left hamstring strain), Herb Jones (strained right shoulder), Dejounte Murray (fractured left hand), CJ McCollum (strained right adductor) and Jose Alvarado (strained left hamstring) have already been sidelined.
The Pelicans could be without their eight or even nine top players, depending on how you rate their reserves. Second-year guard Jordan Hawkins, who averaged 16.3 points on 56.2% true shooting this season, will also be out with a strained lower back. Rookie center Yves Missi is questionable with left shoulder soreness, as of Wednesday afternoon.
New Orleans is 4-11, and this isn’t its first season in recent memory derailed by injuries to core players. The predicament it is in now is extreme, however, even compared to the darkest days of the Anthony Davis era.
Early on, when only Murphy and McCollum were out, it was easy to see a silver lining to the situation: It was always going to be difficult to distribute minutes and touches at full strength, so being shorthanded made things a little simpler. With each subsequent injury, however, figuring out a viable rotation became increasingly complicated. The low point came on Tuesday in Dallas: a 132-91 loss in an NBA Cup game
“I’ve never seen a team go through so many injuries at once to so many guys who are important to a team,” McCollum said earlier this week, via NOLA.com’s Christian Clark. “Usually, it’s one or two and you have to figure it out. And that’s hard. But you’re talking about seven guys, eight guys that are in the rotation.”
Against Cleveland on the second night of a back-to-back, all of the Pelicans’ available players will be on rookie deals or minimum contracts. This includes 30-year-old guard Elfrid Payton, who signed with the team on Wednesday. Payton, the No. 10 pick in the 2014 draft, was with the team for part of this year’s training camp, but was cut on Oct. 16 and began the season with the Birmingham Squadron, the G League team of the Pelicans.
The addition of Payton, however, does not make the roster any deeper. To sign him, New Orleans waived guard Jaylen Nowell. Just four days ago, Nowell logged 35 minutes in a 104-99 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Through 15 games, Ingram has a career-high 31.4% usage rate, a reflection of how heavily the Pelicans have relied on him to create offense. Encouragingly, he attempted 3s more often than ever before — 9.9 out of 100 possessions — and made 37% of them. New Orleans was not effective offensively, however, and its defense was just as bad. Only the Washington Wizards have a worse net rating.
In a cruel bit of irony, after months of discussion about the center position, that’s the only place the Pelicans have been relatively stable. That could change Wednesday, however, if Missi, who has started his last 10 games, ends up sitting out with the shoulder problem.
If Missi is out, expect Trey Jemison or Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to take his place in the starting lineup alongside Brandon Boston Jr., Javonte Green and … I mean, who knows? Payton? Jamal Cain? Anthony Reeves? Karlo Matkovic? Regardless of how Willie Green’s coaching staff manages this shortened rotation, expect Boston — who joined the team on Oct. 21 when New Orleans claimed his two-way contract off waivers and is second to Ingram in total points scored — have neon. green light
Cleveland, by the way, is also pretty beat up. After a terrible shooting night in the Cavs’ first loss of the season against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, Darius Garland is out against the Pelicans with a sore left groin, along with Caris LeVert (left knee inflammation), Sam Merrill (left ankle injury). management), Isaac Okoro (strained left ankle), Dean Wade (sprained left ankle) and Max Strus (sprained right ankle). That’s a solid group of players, but it’s nothing compared to the amount of talent sitting for New Orleans.
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