When Willie Green found out on Friday that starting guard CJ McCollum and top defender Herb Jones would be added to the injury list alongside point guard Dejounte Murray for several weeks, the New Orleans Pelicans coach tried to stay positive.
“We’re grateful that it’s not something that’s going to keep those guys out the rest of the year,” Green said before the Pelicans played 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 a right adductor strain that is likely to keep him out for about two to three weeks. Jones is dealing with a right shoulder strain and a small low-grade partial-thickness tear in his rotator cuff. The Pelicans say he could be out for two weeks to a month.
Both players got hurt during the Pelicans’ loss to Golden State on Tuesday night.
Murray, the Pelicans’ key offseason signing, broke his hand late in New Orleans’ first game against Chicago. He had 14 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds in the only game he played for the team. After having surgery last week, he is expected to miss another three to five weeks.
Meanwhile, New Orleans started the season without wing Trey Murphy III, who is healing from a right hamstring strain and is expected to be out for another week.
With these injuries, shooting guard Jordan Hawkins, a first-round draft pick from Connecticut, and point guard Jose Alvarado, a fourth-year player from Georgia Tech, will get more playing time. Both moved into the starting lineup on Wednesday night at Golden State, where New Orleans lost its third straight game.
The team also gave 7-foot rookie Yves Missi, a first-round draft pick from Baylor, his first career start at center on Friday.
All three players contributed well in a 125-118 win against Indiana.
Hawkins scored 23 points, while Alvarado added 12 points, seven assists, and two steals. Missi had 10 rebounds, blocked a shot, and scored four points, including a powerful 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 team 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 is left — for now — of New Orleans’ usual starting lineup. However, the Pelicans hope that with their leadership, they can remain competitive as several regular bench players take on bigger 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 admitted it can feel unlucky at times like this, he emphasized 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.”
