The New Orleans Pelicans were off to a great start to the 2023-24 NBA season, winning four of their first five games. They have since lost three straight and are now back down to .500 following their 122-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Zion Williamson missed that game for the Pelicans due to personal reasons. While his absence wasn't injury-related, the injury bug seems to be creeping up on the Pelicans once again early in the season.

In seven games so far, their starting five of Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas, and Herbert Jones have played just 41 minutes in three games. Sure, it's still early in the season and there's a whole lot of basketball left to be played. But this seems to happen every year and their early season injuries could be ominous that the 2023-24 season could be another injury-riddled campaign for the Pelicans.

Pelicans biggest disappointment this season: Injuries

It all starts with Zion Williamson

Here we go again. Injuries have been a recurring theme for the Pelicans ever since they drafted Zion Williamson.

Everything begins with the former No. 1 overall pick. Without him, there is no way the Pelicans can even contend for a playoff spot, especially in a deep Western Conference.

Unfortunately, Williamson cannot seem to stay on the floor, save for the 2020-21 season, where he played 61 games and made the All-Star team for the first time. But for most of his career, the former Duke standout just hasn't been healthy. He played just 24 games in his rookie year and later missed the entire 2021-22 season after a breakout sophomore campaign.

Williamson started out healthy in 2022-23 and actually helped lead the Pelicans to a 17-12 record when he was healthy. But he wound up playing just 29 games after suffering a hamstring injury. There was belief that Williamson would return at some point during the season, but was eventually shut down for the rest of the year when he failed to progress in his recovery process.

Like last year, Williamson is also starting out the season healthy. He has missed two games so far, but both of them were not injury related. He has looked healthy and spry so far and if that keeps up, the Pelicans can certainly contend for a playoff spot.

Injuries to begin the year

CJ McCollum was diagnosed with a small pneumothorax in his right lung on Sunday. He still does not have a timetable for a return, but there should be an update on that soon. McCollum already suffered a collapsed lung in 2021 while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. He sat out 18 games that season due to the injury.

Brandon Ingram has already missed three games this season due to right knee tendinitis. Even he missed a good chunk of games during the 2022-23 season. In fact, he hasn't reached the 60-game plateau since the 2020-21 season.

Sure, we're still in the early goings of the season, but New Orleans' main stars are already in and out of the lineup.

The team was already down three rotation pieces to begin the 2023-24 NBA season. Trey Murphy suffered a meniscus tear during a workout in early September. Jose Alvarado hasn't made his season debut yet due to an ankle injury. Naji Marshall as well because of a hyperextended knee that he suffered during the preseason.

Rookie Jordan Hawkins is already the player who has seen the most playing time among all Pelicans players this season. He figures to continue seeing more opportunities come his way if McCollum misses time.

It's a shame if another season goes down the drain for the Pelicans due to injuries. As we saw at the beginning of last season, this team has the potential to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference when healthy. Let's hope that these early-season ailments aren't a sign of what's to come for the rest of the campaign.