New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram is set to miss some time after suffering a left knee bone contusion during Thursday night's game against the Orlando Magic, the team announced on Friday morning.
Ingram left Thursday's game during the third quarter after hyperextending his left knee during a collision with Magic guard Jalen Suggs. The star forward went to the ground in immediate pain and had to be helped off the court by team personnel. The Pelicans went on to lose this game 121-106 in Orlando.
Brandon Ingram had to be helped off the court by Pelicans teammates.
Prayers up 🙏🏽
(via @jowepafm) pic.twitter.com/Cm5HtpI1W0
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 22, 2024
Upon further imaging, it was determined that Ingram had avoided any significant damage to his knee. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks, and the Pelicans will provide additional updates at that time.
Brandon Ingram's impact
All season, Ingram has been the focal point of the Pelicans offense. He currently ranks second on the team in scoring and is first in assists. Behind Jonas Valanciunas, who has not missed a single game this year, Ingram has been the most durable and reliable player for New Orleans in terms of being healthy.
This knee contusion right before the start of the playoffs is going to be a very tricky injury for the Pelicans to navigate, especially since Ingram's recovery is going to be solely based on how much pain he can tolerate. There are no real timetables or healing times for knee contusions or bone bruises since everyone heals differently.
With Ingram out, the Pels will look to Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum to lead their offense, both of whom are capable of doing so. Williamson has been playing his best basketball of the season in recent weeks, averaging 25.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 62.8 percent from the floor over his last eight games. Along with Zion and McCollum, Trey Murphy III will also be tasked with a bigger role as a result of Ingram's knee injury.
Murphy played a total of 29 minutes off the bench against the Magic on Thursday, registering a team-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 3-of-5 from three-point range. In March, Murphy has recorded five games with at least 20 points, including a 34-point outburst with 10 made threes in a 139-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on March 5.
The Pelicans are currently 42-27 on the season, just 1.5 games in front of the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns for the 5-seed in the Western Conference. After road games against the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons, New Orleans faces a brutal stretch of home games against the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Suns, and Magic. Without Ingram, the Pelicans will really need to rely on their top-10 defense to slow the pace of the game.
Ingram has played in a total of 63 games this year, averaging 20.9 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 49.0 percent from the floor. The Pelicans are hopeful that he will be able to return to the floor in some capacity ahead of the playoffs in April.
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