Don't look now, but the New Orleans Pelicans have notched their first win streak of the 2024-25 NBA season, stringing together three straight victories against the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, and Utah Jazz. In fact, they've looked like a completely different team since the turn of the calendar.
Since January 1, 2025, the Pelicans have gone 6-4 and have attained a +16 point differential so far in the month. They've put up 116.3 points per game since the New Year as opposed to their season average of 108.9. At the same time, they've held their opponents to 114.7, a stark improvement on their 117.2 average on the year.
They're in danger of extending their win streak to four games with another matchup slated against the tanking Jazz. The only thing that's been similar between the 2025 Pelicans and the 2024 iteration of this team is their injury report. They'll have several names listed ahead of their clash against Utah, with some players set to miss more time after the game too.
Pelicans injury report for January 19, 2025
Questionable Pelicans:
Zion Williamson - Day-to-Day (illness)
Yves Missi - Day-to-Day (illness)
Dejounte Murray - Day-to-Day (right elbow bursitis)
Multiple key members of New Orleans's rotation have been listed as questionable for their game against the Jazz on Monday night, January 20. Both Zion Williamson and Yves Missi have landed on the injury report with a non-COVID illness. Missi missed the Pelicans' earlier game versus Utah on Friday, January 17 with the same sickness.
There's no confirmation if Zion caught his bug from Missi, but it's definitely possible, although Zion was able to play on Friday. This could be an extremely devious and clever way of tanking by the Pelicans' front office, as Williamson hasn't appeared in back-to-back games since November 1, and it'd be pretty difficult to prove that he's not too sick to play in this second leg against the Jazz. It's also not implausible that he could have caught Missi's sickness.
Murray's been dealing with his minor elbow ailment for a few games now. He's deemed as probable against the Jazz, just as he was in their game on Friday and their outing against the Dallas Mavericks before that.
Out Pelicans:
Brandon Ingram - Out (ankle sprain)
Herb Jones - Out (torn labrum)
The most notable update we've received regarding both Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones's injuries is that we've received no updated. Jones missed his first game after tearing his shoulder on January 10, so it's not surprising that there hasn't been any notable news regarding his absence.
Ingram is a different story, though. BI last played on December 7, meaning he's already missed six weeks with a high ankle sprain. This is significant, as six weeks is usually the long end of a timetable for such an injury. We're a little over two weeks away from the NBA trade deadline. With no update or clear timeline for his return, the chance that we've seen the last of Ingram in a Pelicans' uniform increases by the day, although New Orleans could wind up not trading him this season.