After the most recent injury to Brandon Ingram, I am starting to think the New Orleans Pelicans might be cursed.
Few teams have suffered as many spirit-crushing injuries as the Pelicans over the last few years, as they are already without Zion Williamson and now Ingram has joined him on the injured list.
Ingram left the OKC game early on with what is being called an “Achilles injury” but the severity of that injury is still unknown.
He is listed as “doubtful” for tonight’s game against the Cavaliers, which is actually a good sign, as hopefully it means the injury isn’t serious enough to warrant an extended absence.
Whether Brandon Ingram has to miss just a few games or many, this injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pelicans were finally starting to click
Coach Willie Green has this team playing hard and they were finally starting to see the results of their hard work.
The Pels had won four-in-a-row, were sniffing at the heels of the play-in tournament and Brandon Ingram was playing like an MVP candidate.
It’s almost as if the Basketball Gods will not allow Pels’ fans to be happy, because as soon as things started going well, they suffered yet another setback.
The timing of this particular injury is just kick in the teeth for those of us who haven’t given up on this season and thought the Pelicans had a great chance to make the play-in tournament.
The Pelicans upcoming schedule is brutal
As if losing your two best players was not bad enough, the Pelicans are entering a five-game stretch of the schedule against some of the best teams in the NBA:
- Tuesday 12/28: Cavaliers
- Saturday 1/1: Bucks
- Monday 1/3: Jazz
- Tuesday 1/4: Suns
- Thursday 1/6: Warriors
All five of those teams are in the playoffs right now and the Jazz, Suns and Warriors are the league’s three best.
Luckily they do have some time off between the Cavaliers and Bucks, so hopefully Brandon Ingram’s injury is minor and he’ll be back in time for Milwaukee.
But if not, they will pack in four games in five days including a back-to-back against the Jazz and Suns followed by the Warriors.
It was going to be a tough stretch for the Pelicans even with Brandon Ingram, but without him, they are staring down the barrel of a six game losing streak just as they were getting things going.
It’s tough to be a fan of the New Orleans Pelicans, which is why there are only 12 of us I guess, but the severity of Brandon Ingram’s injury will likely decide the fate of an already tumultuous season.