As if matters could not get worse for the New Orleans Pelicans, Jose Alvarado has been hit by the injury bug. Alvarado, 26, is expected to miss the next six weeks with a hamstring injury, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
Alvarado is the sixth different player to be hit with the injury bug in New Orleans, as he now joins CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Zion Williamson, Jordan Hawkins, and Dejounte Murray on the team's injured list. The only good news for the Pelicans is that Trey Murphy III returned on Monday night after missing the start of the season with a hamstring injury.
This injury to Alvarado occurred in Monday night's game against the Brooklyn Nets. At one point, Alvarado appeared to tweak something, and he went back to the locker room in the third quarter. However, he did end up emerging from the team's tunnel and returning to the game in the fourth quarter. Alvarado finished this contest with three points and a steal in 18 minutes.
In a total of 11 games, Alvarado has averaged 10.7 points and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from three-point range. He has started in a total of seven games with McCollum and Murray out of the lineup.
Alvarado now being out indefinitely leaves the Pelicans extremely thin. Head coach Willie Green has already had to dive deep into his bench, and he will need to do so once again as far as finding production in the backcourt with McCollum, Murray, and now Alvarado sidelined. Jaylen Nowell, Brandon Boston Jr., Javonte Green, and rookie Antonio Reeves will all see an increase in minutes as the Pelicans battle through injuries.
Unfortunately, as a result of all of these early-season injury concerns, the Pelicans have sunk in the Western Conference standings. Since winning their first two games of the season, New Orleans has lost eight of their last nine games, including five straight.
To make matters worse, the Pelicans' schedule is not getting any easier, as they will play the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Golden State Warriors over their next six games. Cleveland and Oklahoma City own the league's best records, as the Warriors and Nuggets are right behind them at the top of the standings.
Close to 43 percent of the team's total scoring production now resides on the injury list, leaving the Pelicans with nobody to really turn to. Brandon Ingram is the only player from the Pelicans' normal starting rotation still healthy, and reinforcements are not on their way back any time soon.
Due to the number of players that they have on the injury report, the Pelicans will be allowed to apply for multiple 10-day hardship exceptions, which could allow them to add a couple notable free agents to their roster. Still, this team faces a massive uphill climb in order to stay afloat in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans will provide further updates on Alvarado's health when appropriate.
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