The New Orleans Pelicans have been among the biggest disappointments in the NBA this season, as they are 13 games below .500. Unlike a lot of other disappointments in the league, the Pelicans have a legitimate excuse in that they have had so many key players injured. It seemed like they had turned a corner with their play and their health until recently, when the injury bug hit again. Eric Gordon fractured one of his fingers on his shooting hand Tuesday night and is expected to miss four to six weeks, according to Scott Kushner of The Advocate.
The Pelicans have won three of their last four games and are unbelievably just three games out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference despite their 14-27 record, but the injuries have been tough to overcome. Aside from Gordon's injury, it was also announced recently that Quincy Pondexter would be out for the season as he will have knee surgery, and that also was a big blow.
Gordon has a reputation as a guy that is always getting hurt, as he hasn't played in more than 64 games since his rookie season, but until this injury he and Alonzo Gee were the only Pelicans to appear in every game so far. Gordon's run will unfortunately end, and although four to six weeks is not an official timetable, it seems like a reasonable estimate.
Gordon isn't having his best season, but he has been pretty effective for New Orleans this year. Through 41 games (40 starts), Gordon is averaging 14.9 points and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 41 percent from the field and 38 percent from three. The 27-year-old guard has been brought up in some trade rumors due to the fact that he will be an unrestricted free agent after this year, but it never seemed likely that he would be dealt.
With Gordon out, the Pelicans will likely replace him in the starting lineup with former All-Star Jrue Holiday. Holiday finally has had his minutes restriction lifted and has been playing extremely well lately, but he has been coming off the bench. Now with Gordon out, Holiday may re-enter the starting lineup, and while that is a very good replacement, it does hurt their depth in the backcourt, so expect Norris Cole to play an even bigger role for the next month or so.
