Pelicans news: Jose Alvarado injury update, timetable for Zion, CJ, etc.

There was a ton of excitement built around the New Orleans Pelicans this past summer. Zion Williamson just came off the healthiest season of his career in which he played 70 games and significantly slimmed down over the offseason. The Pelicans traded for All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray. Young players like Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, and Jordan Hawkins were expected to take another step forward in their developments.

That optimism evaporated almost instantly once the season began. New Orleans may have won their season-opener over the Chicago Bulls, but Murray went down with a fractured left hand. Little did the Pelicans know, that injury would turn out to be just the beginning of the season from hell.

Murray joined Trey Murphy III, who suffered a hamstring strain at the start of training camp, on the sidelines, and the injury report only lengthened from there. Over the next three weeks, more and more Pelicans would check into the infirmary, the latest being Jose Alvarado who appeared clearly hampered in his last game against the Brooklyn Nets.

Jose Alvarado's diagnosis and full injury timetable for the Pelicans

Jose Alvarado

New Orleans announced on Tuesday, November 12 that Alvarado underwent an MRI to diagnose his injury. The scan confirmed that he suffered a left hamstring strain. The Pelicans also stated that he'd be re-evaluated in three weeks' time. Shams Charania then tweeted that Alvarado was expected to miss six weeks, but his timetable won't be clear until his re-evaluation. The average absence for a hamstring strain in the NBA is typically 4-6 weeks, though.

Zion Williamson

Zion Williamson is also sidelined with a left hamstring strain, although his injury was a bit more peculiar. He was originally listed as day-to-day with an ambiguous ailment before the Pelicans eventually announced his official diagnosis on November 9. He's currently only listed as out indefinitely, but his timeline should be pretty similar to Alvarado's — given that the New Orleans's brass isn't hiding anything else regarding his health.

Jordan Hawkins

Jordan Hawkins was ruled out with a lower back strain on November 8. This was reportedly a lagging issue for him that he played through. This is especially admirable considering his hot start to the year, averaging 16.2 points per game on 41 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent from deep. He was originally given a 1-2 week timeline on November 8.

Herb Jones

Herb Jones was diagnosed with a low-grade, partial tear in his rotator cuff, along with a right shoulder strain on November 1. He was expected to miss at least 2-4 weeks.

CJ McCollum

Like Jones, CJ McCollum was officially ruled out on November 1, except with a right adductor strain. He was given a timetable of 2-3 weeks which means he could be back soon.

Dejounte Murray

Dejounte Murray fractured his left hand in the Pelicans' season opener and was given a 4-6 week timeline after successful surgery. If that estimate holds, he should be back in approximately three weeks.