NEW ORLEANS — There were a few familiar faces on the floor at Pelicans practice Monday afternoon. CJ McCollum was on one side of the court getting shots up after participating in a full, non-contact practice for the first time in three weeks. On the other end, Jordan Hawkins , who missed the last five games with a back injury, went through a shooting drill with Pelicans assistant Corey Brewer.
Dejounte Murray even got in some on-court work earlier in the day as he begins his recovery from a fractured left hand suffered on Oct 23. Advertisement After weeks of struggling to keep his team afloat through an unprecedented stretch of injuries, Pelicans coach Willie Green might finally be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. He desperately needs it.
During his first three seasons in New Orleans, Green became very familiar with competing without his best players on the floor. But the lack of roster stability during his fourth season has been worse than anything he could’ve imagined. “This is a unique circumstance we’re dealing with,” Green said.
“I don’t think I’ve seen too many examples of one team having this many injuries to their main guys all at once.” Zion Williamson , Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III , Murray, McCollum and Hawkins have already missed a combined 63 games less than one month into the NBA season. The Pelicans have played 15 following their 41-point loss to the Mavericks on Tuesday.
Another game, against the league-best Cavaliers , waits on Wed.