New Orleans Pelicans point guard Elfrid Payton has been sidelined since January 26th due to a right ankle sprain, but it sounds like he's recovered enough to play in Friday night's road game against the Pacers.
Though it was a brief report, Scott Kushner of The Advocate shared news of Payton's status on Thursday afternoon:
Elfrid Payton is expected to play tomorrow.
— Scott Kushner (@ScottDKushner) February 21, 2019
Tim Frazier and Frank Jackson will likely see their usage rates decrease a bit with Payton's return. Exactly how much playing time Payton will receive in coming games remains to be seen. The Pelicans, who are currently the 4th-ranked team in the Southwest Division, could place him on a minutes restriction as a precautionary measure.
Payton, now 24 years of age, has made 19 appearances with the Pelicans this season (all starts), racking up averages of 9.8 points on 43.9 percent shooting from the field (35.1 percent from beyond the arc), 5.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 26.9 minutes per outing.
In other Pelicans-related injury news, Darius Miller is still day-to-day with an ankle injury. Whether or not he'll be available against the Pacers remains to be seen. If Miller is ruled out, Kenrich Williams will likely be called on to pick up the slack.
Friday night's Pelicans-Pacers game is scheduled to tip inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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