Zion Williamson (hamstring). Dejounte Murray (hand). CJ McCollum (adductor). Herb Jones (shoulder). Jordan Hawkins (back).
All of those Pelicans players are out for at least the next couple of weeks — and now you can add Jose Alvarado to the list.
The #Pelicans announced today that guard Jose Alvarado has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain.
An MRI taken this morning confirmed the injury, which occurred during last night’s game vs the Nets.
He will be re-examined in approximately 3 weeks. pic.twitter.com/EKMJ5331rA
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) November 12, 2024
Expect Alvarado to miss more like six weeks, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. He was clearly trying to play through an issue during the end of the Pelicans’ loss to the Nets on Monday. This injury just seems like piling on for a team that just got Trey Murphy III back on Monday after he missed the first 10 games of the season with a hand injury.
Alvarado’s injury leaves Jaylen Nowell — the journeyman combo guard the team signed on Nov. 3 to help cover for all the injuries — as the only point guard on the roster.
The impact of all those injuries was evident in the Pelicans’ loss to the Nets on Monday night, when the team couldn’t score in the final 3:30 of the game and gave up a four-point lead to lose 107-105. Brandon Ingram is taking on a heavy offensive load, and scored 24 points with nine assists against Brooklyn, but when the Nets loaded up the defense on him there were no other good answers (Murphy, in his first game back, looked understandably rusty and a little fatigued at the end). While rookie Yves Missi has stood out — he had 17 and 11 against Brooklyn — the fact he has to speaks to the larger issue.
The Pelicans are 3-8, sit 14th in the West and already are three games back of even the final play-in spot, and their schedule is about to get a lot harder in the coming weeks. It’s a rough time to be a Pelicans fan.
