Pelicans' injury situation keeps getting worse

With only 11 games in the books, 2024-25 is already the season from hell for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Tuesday that Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado is expected to miss six weeks due to a hamstring injury. Alvarado, who had been posted career highs across the board in an expanded role this season, suffered the injury during Monday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

With the multi-week hamstring issue, Alvarado now joins an absurd conga line of Pelicans players who have gotten hurt within just these first three weeks of the season. Dejounte Murray (hand), CJ McCollum (adductor), Herbert Jones (shoulder), Jordan Hawkins (back), and Zion Williamson (hamstring) are all in the middle of extended injury absences as well.

For those keeping score at home, that is now six top rotation players for New Orleans making a combined $119M this season alone. In fact, of the seven highest-paid players on the team’s roster this year, only Brandon Ingram has managed to stay healthy (forward Trey Murphy III also just returned from a hamstring injury of his own).

When it comes to the bare-bones depth that the Pelicans have left, their new projected starting five is Ingram, Murphy, Brandon Boston Jr., Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Yves Missi (with Daniel Theis, Javonte Green and Jaylen Nowell providing support off the bench). That will not cut it in a brutal Western Conference, especially with New Orleans now just 3-8 on the season overall. All in all, that horrible injury luck is reminiscent of the West team that had it even worse last season.