The New Orleans Pelicans project to be incredibly short-handed in their Wednesday night bout against the Cleveland Cavaliers. A long list of players, all of whom have logged playing time for New Orleans when healthy, have already been ruled out.
These players are OUT for the Pelicans against the #Cavs:
Jose Alvarado (hamstring)
Jordan Hawkins (back)
Brandon Ingram (ankle)
Herb Jones (shoulder)
CJ McCollum (thigh)
Trey Murphy III (hamstring)
Dejounte Murray (hand)
Jaylen Nowell (NWT)
Zion Williamson (hamstring)— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) November 20, 2024
One of the players listed as out is reportedly being waived by the Pelicans.
Shams: Jaylen Nowell to be waived by the Pelicans.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) November 20, 2024
Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray and C.J. McCollum are among the more notable Pelicans who will be sidelined.
Ingram hasn’t missed a game yet this season, but that’s about to change. He’s been New Orleans’ leading scorer this season.
Meanwhile, Williamson has ironically been sidelined ever since he suited up against Cleveland back on Nov. 6 due to a hamstring injury.
As for Murray, he fractured his hand in New Orleans’ first contest of the season after he was dealt to the Pelicans in the offseason. The Atlanta Hawks received two first-round picks and some players in exchange for the one-time All-Star.
Finally, McCollum has suited up in only four of the Pelicans’ 15 games so far in the 2024-25 regular season due to an adductor injury.
The mountain of injuries that the Pelicans are dealing with right now suggests that the Cavaliers will have a golden opportunity to get back to their winning ways on Wednesday. However, Cleveland will also be down some key players.
#Cavs Darius Garland (Groin), Caris LeVert (Knee), Isaac Okoro (Ankle), Sam Merrill (Ankle), Dean Wade (Ankle), Max Strus (Ankle) & Emoni Bates (Knee) are OUT tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Everyone else is available.
— jack (@TheCavsJack) November 20, 2024
The Cavaliers just suffered their first loss of the campaign against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday after the team got off to a historic 15-0 start. Cleveland, dealing with some injuries in the matchup, lost by three points in part because of a lackluster showing from star guard Darius Garland, who finished with eight points on 3-of-21 shooting from the floor.
Had the Cavaliers defeated Boston, they would have become just the second team in the history of the NBA to start off a season by winning its first 16 contests. The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors are the lone squad to accomplish such a feat, and they actually started that campaign out 24-0.
Especially when considering that Wednesday’s matchup will be a home contest for Cleveland, it’s hard to imagine that the Cavaliers will pick up their second loss in a row against an injury-riddled Pelicans squad, even with the Cavs a bit banged up themselves.
