Pelicans' first injury report may already be full of bad news

The New Orleans Pelicans have been a team mired by injury concerns dating back to even before the Zion Williamson era. Before they drafted him out of Duke first overall, fans were constantly worried about Anthony Davis's availability. Then came Zion whose stellar young career so far has been marred by weeks and whole seasons lost to injury.

Last season, he bucked the trend, playing in 70 total games en route to his healthiest campaign to date. The Pelicans will be hoping that his 2023-24, coupled with a transformative summer, marked a turning point in his career, followed by consistent vitality and pure domination.

Unfortunately, it's not getting off to a good start. Before the season has even begun, the New Orleans Pelicans are receiving a loaded injury report that doesn't bode well for the rest of the year. While there hasn't been any devastating news, it's not exactly a good omen to start the season potentially shorthanded.

Several Pelicans could be out for the first few games of the season

First, Trey Murphy III suffered a hamstring strain in practice, costing him his entire training camp and preseason. Thankfully, the Pelicans were able to come to terms with him on a contract extension, signing him for an additional four years for a total of $112 million, despite his absence throughout the preseason festivities. He's not expected to play in their season opener against the Chicago Bulls and could a few more games to begin the year.

Earlier in the week, Dejounte Murray missed practice due to "personal reasons." He's questionable for Wednesday night's game, although Head Coach Willie Green is hopeful that he'll be available.

Tuesday afternoon, it was announced that Zion Williamson also missed practice due to an illness. Both he and Murray will be game-time decisions against the Bulls, per NOLA.com's Christian Clark.

Finally, another surprise name popped up on the injury report: Jose Alvarado. He's listed as day-to-day by the Pelicans with a right knee contusion.

Fortunately, none of these conditions should keep these players out for an extended period of time. A team historically cursed with injuries potentially starting out their season down four rotation players certainly isn't a good omen, however. Hopefully, these guys can return sooner rather than later and start building chemistry together, as the Pelicans have undergone some drastic changes within their structure and will need to continue to evolve to match their new personnel to contend for a title.