Pelicans depth chart without Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum

The New Orleans Pelicans can’t catch a break on the injury front this season, as Brandon Ingram was recently ruled out for at least a week with a hamstring injury and now CJ McCollum is out on the health and safety protocol.

The Pels have gotten lucky in the standings so far, as all of the teams around them are floundering at the same time, leaving New Orleans alone in the 10th seed with a 1.5 game cushion between them and Portland.

The Pelicans have gotten used to playing without Zion Williamson this season but they’ve been lost without Brandon Ingram, losing 14 of the 16 games without him.

And now with McCollum out, New Orleans has to try and overcome the loss of half their points, no easy task for a bench full of role players who have been either ineffective or wildly inconsistent this season.

It’s hard to even imagine what the Pelicans depth chart will look like without their three stars, but I’ll give it a shot.

It’s not a pretty sight.

Pelicans depth chart without Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum

The Pelicans went from one of the hottest teams in the league to having a depth chart that barely looks like an NBA team:

• Devonte’ Graham/Jose Alvarado
• Tony Snell/Garrett Temple
• Herbert Jones/Trey Murphy III
• Jaxson Hayes/Naji Marshall
• Jonas Valanciunas/Willy Hernangomez

The Pelicans are going to have to lean heavily on Jonas Valanciunas, who has been asked to pick up the slack for his injured teammates a few times this season and is ready for the task.

But after that is where the problem begins, as the Pels don’t have a single other player who has played consistently well offensively this season.

Can Devonte’ Graham have a few big games and carry the Pels’ offense for a stretch? Can rookie Trey Murphy III finally contribute? Will Naji Marshall ever make another 3-point shot? Can Jaxson Hayes find a rhythm with more touches?

There are a lot of questions and not too many answers for the Pelicans right now, who have to find a way to stay afloat with most of the points on the injured list.