NEW ORLEANS — When Willie Green learned Friday that starting guard CJ McCollum and top defender Herb Jones would be joining point guard Dejounte Murray on the injury list for multiple weeks, the New Orleans Pelicans coach tried to look on the bright side.
“We’re grateful that it’s not something that’s going to keep those guys out the rest of the year,” Green said before New Orleans hosted the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. “It’s something that they can recover from.
“At the same time, it’s going to ask a lot of the rest of the group,” Green added. “You’ve got to cut down on mistakes … grind and kind of weather the storm.”
McCollum, who has averaged 18.8 points in four games this season, has been diagnosed with a right adductor strain that is expected to sideline him about two to three weeks. Jones has a right shoulder strain and small low-grade partial thickness tear in his rotator cuff. The Pelicans say he could be out from two weeks to a month.
Both were hurt during the Pelicans’ loss at Golden State on Tuesday night.
Murray, the Pelicans’ top offseason acquisition, broke his hand late in New Orleans’ regular season-opening victory over Chicago. Murray had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the lone game he’s played for New Orleans. He had surgery last week and is expected to miss an additional three to five weeks
PHOTOS: Pelicans add CJ McCollum and Herb Jones to growing injury list
Meanwhile, New Orleans began the season without wing Trey Murphy III, who is recovering from a right hamstring strain that is expected to keep him out one more week.
The injuries will mean much more playing time for shooting guard Jordan Hawkins, a 2023 first-round draft choice out of Connecticut, and point guard Jose Alvarado, and fourth-year pro out of Georgia Tech. Both moved into the starting lineup on Wednesday night at Golden State, when New Orleans lost its third straight game.
The team also gave 7-foot rookie Yves Missi - a first-round draft pick out of Baylor - his first career start at center on Friday.
All three responded productively in a 125-118 victory over Indiana.
Hawkins scored 23 points. Alvarado added 12 points, seven assists and two steals. Missi grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked a shot and had four points, highlighted by his thunderous dunk over Indiana’s Myles Turner.
“They were more active than usual, vocally and just energy-wise,” said Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who led the club with 34 points and 10 assists. “When players do stuff like that, no matter which calibre player you’re talking about, it’s infectious. Like, people want to be a part of that. People feed off of that and it leads to those runs, lobs, blocks and just wanting to make the play.”
Williamson and wing Brandon Ingram represent what remains - for now - of New Orleans’ usual starting lineup. But the Pelicans hope that with their leadership, they can stay competitive as several usual reserves adjust to more prominent roles.
“With this group, we just continue to stay together and go after it,” Green said. “Not having the main guys on the floor and having to adjust to guys that aren’t necessarily in the rotation, that’s the issue for us.
“We saw the first game what we would look like,” Green added, referring to Murray’s addition to this season’s main lineup. “Without him, we were kind of going back to what we were doing last season; it wasn’t how we were playing all camp, so we’ve got to make some adjustments.”
Although Green conceded that it’s easy to feel unlucky at times like these, he stressed that “life is too good and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to lead.”
“Things happen, adversity strikes and how we handle that, it prepares us for life,” Green said. “That’s how I look at it.”
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