The New Orleans Pelicans are currently 1.5 games outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference. They are sitting in fifth place, just ahead of the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, who are tied with identical 41-29 records.
Avoiding the NBA Play-In Tournament is a good goal for the Pelicans to have, but their path to securing one of those top six spots has gotten a little tougher. That is because they are going to be without one of their better players for the foreseeable future.
Starting forward Brandon Ingram, suffered an injury during the team’s game against the Orlando Magic on Thursday night. He hurt his knee in the matchup, and the team released an official statement updating his status.
According to the release from the Pelicans, Ingram underwent an MRI after hyperextending his left knee in the third quarter of the game. The results of the test revealed that Ingram suffered a bone bruise on his left knee.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Brandon Ingram & New Orleans Pelicans Updates
Ingram will miss at least the next two weeks, as he will be evaluated in 14 days. Any updates or additional details that may emerge will be provided as the team sees appropriate.
That is a massive blow for New Orleans, as Ingram will be missing at least the team’s next eight games. But, the update says that is only when he will be re-evaluated, so there is a chance that he is sidelined even longer than that.
With only 13 games remaining in the regular season, Ingram could be hard-pressed to get back in the lineup for a few games before the NBA Playoffs get underway. Without him in the lineup, the team will be relying more on Trey Murphy and Naji Marshall, as they are the likely candidates to replace him in the starting lineup.
On the season, Ingram is averaging 20.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 33 minutes per game. He is shooting 49 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from 3-point range and 80.1 percent from the charity stripe.
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