The New Orleans Pelicans will face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who just lost their first game of the season after going on a 15-0 streak. However, the questions are not about how the Pelicans can play or what they can do to capitalize on Cleveland’s first defeat. They are about how New Orleans will complete their lineup.

Yes, to say that the Pelicans are going through an injury crisis might even be an understatement. New Orleans has eight players on the injury list ahead of the game against the Cavs, and these are not third or fourth-string players. Their injury report includes all their starters and even players from the bench.

That means the New Orleans Pelicans only have seven active players on their current roster. This called for a new signing, Elfrid Payton, who has agreed to a deal with the team as per his agent, Darrell Comer, who gave the news to ESPN. A former lottery pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Payton, joined the team’s training camp.

This comes after injuries struck one after the other, forcing coach Willie Green to approach his former teammate back at Orlando to suit up for his current side. Payton now 30, last played for the Suns in the 2021-22 season and was decent averaging 10.1 points and 5.7 assists. New Orleans had to create space by waiving Jaylen Nowell. Only time will tell how this emergency signing pans out.

Injury woes hit New Orleans Pelicans playoff expectation

Coming off a 49-33 record from last season, fans expected that this could be the season where they touch the 50-mark and, once again, aim for the playoffs. Well, given the talent on the squad, not many would deny it. However, they have had a season from hell so far, currently sitting second last with 4 wins out of 11, and have lost eight of their last nine games. At this point, it’s not just about the record, it’s about the stature of these losses teams are just rolling past them.

Some notable players injured are Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III. And a few others as well. The expectations set ahead of the season are far behind and only doubts cast over this side.

Although they have had injury problems in the past, this is much worse, coach Green said “This is a unique circumstance we’re dealing with” and added, “I don’t think I’ve seen too many examples of one team having this many injuries to their main guys at once.”

Recently, news broke through veteran guard CJ McCollum is nearing a return which might be a glimmer of hope for the Pelicans faithful. Additionally, Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones, and Jordan Hawkins are back on the court, but no definite date is set for their returns. Although Willie Green and the Pelicans still have a long season ahead, the pressure on them will be enormous once they step onto the court.

The best Pelicans can do now is hope the players recover as quickly as possible before the season completely slips out of their hands.