Pelicans notes: Ingram, Jones, Missi, losing streak

The injury-plagued one Pelicans will get some key reinforcements back on Thursday against Phoenix, as Brandon Ingram And Herbert Jones have been upgraded from questionable to available, the team announced (via Twitter).

Ingram has missed the last five games with right plantar tendonitis, while Jones has been sidelined since Oct. 29 with a right shoulder strain and a small, minor partial-thickness tear in his rotator cuff. Jones was selected All-Defensive First Team in 2023-24 and has missed the last 18 games due to the injury.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier this week that the two starting wings were on track to return on Thursday.

Here are a few more notes from New Orleans:

• Another player upgraded from questionable to available for Thursday’s match is the first-round rookie Yves Missiwho is dealing with a sprained right ankle. While the Pelicans’ season has been an unmitigated disaster so far, having lost nine straight games and 15 of their last 16 games, Missi’s play has been one of the few hopes on the horizon. As NOLA.com’s Christian Clark writes, the 20-year-old big man had a career night with 23 points (on 11 of 14 shooting) and 12 rebounds in Monday’s loss to Atlanta. “He’s getting better and better“, head coach Willie Green said. “A real ray of hope for our team.”
• Will the Pelicans be able to salvage their season after a 4-18 start that already leaves them 7.5 games behind San Antonio for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference? William Guillory of The Athletic examines this topic. According to Guillory, a major squad or coaching change seems unlikely in the near future, but the pressure on Green is definitely increasing after a string of non-competitive defeats.
• In case you missed it, the Pelicans provided injury updates on Wednesday Zion Williamson (strain of the left thigh muscles), Jose Alvarado (left thigh strain) and Jordan Hawkins (Annular cleft of the lumbar spine). Williamson and Alvarado are out at least two more weeks, while Hawkins will be checked out again in a week.