ORLANDO, Fla. — New Orleans Pelicans star forward Brandon Ingram will be out for at least a few weeks after an MRI Friday revealed a "left knee bone contusion."
The club said it would be "re-evaluated in two weeks."
The Pelicans are now in a stretch where they will be playing every other day for those two weeks, meaning Ingram will miss a minimum of 8 games as the team battles for playoff positioning.
Also, the "re-evaluated in two weeks," normally means that an update will be given at that time, but it is unlikely that Ingram will sprint back onto the court that night.
Ingram got the MRI Friday on his left knee after injuring it playing defense during a 121-106 loss to the Orlando Magic Thursday night and the Pelicans’ chances in postseason could be riding heavily on the outcome.
Ingram left Thursday night’s game in the third quarter in the middle of another big night. He had already put up 14 points in 21 minutes when he went to the floor writing in pain.
Head coach Willie Green said that Ingram would get the MRI Friday.
“It’s extremely difficult to see him go down,” he said. “Our prayers will be going out tonight. Hopefully we’ll get some good news.”
The Pelicans have been one of the league’s hottest teams in the past six weeks, winning 16 of 21 games before Thursday night. The Pelicans face Miami in Miami Friday night.
There are only three weeks left in the season. Being without Ingram could be very costly as the team maneuvers to try to secure a top-six playoff spot and avoid the play-in games, which could very well pit them against a legendary player like LeBron James, Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant in high stakes games that could send a team home quickly.
Currently the Pelicans are the 5th seed in the Western Conference, but they are only 1.5 games ahead of Durant, Booker and the Suns and only 2 games ahead of the Sacramento Kings.
Avoiding the play-in could buy the Pelicans another week, but, until Ingram’s results come back, there’s no telling if that will make a difference.
Perhaps in no other league is an injury to a top tier player on your team as crucial as the NBA where most teams are top heavy with talent. The Pelicans have struggled to realize the potential of their talented young core as Zion Williamson and Ingram have struggled with remaining healthy.
Ingram played in only 45 games in 2022 and 55 the season before. He had played in 63 of the team’s 69 games this season, averaging 20.9 points per game and a team-leading 5.8 assists.
He, along with Williamson, are the team’s two matchup problems with unique skill sets.
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