The Pelicans' initial injury report may already be full of bad news

The New Orleans Pelicans were a team plagued by injury concerns even before the Zion Williamson era. Before taking him first overall out of Duke, fans were constantly worried about the availability of Anthony Davis. Then came Zion, whose outstanding young career has so far been marked by weeks and entire breaks due to injury.

He bucked the trend last season, playing a total of 70 games en route to his best season to date. The Pelicans hope the 2023-24 season, coupled with a transformative summer, marks a turning point in his career, followed by consistent vitality and pure dominance.

Unfortunately, it didn't get off to a good start. Before the season has even started, the New Orleans Pelicans receive a serious injury report that doesn't bode well for the rest of the year. While there wasn't any devastating news, it's not exactly a good omen that the season may start undermanned.

First, Trey Murphy III suffered a hamstring strain in practice that cost him all of training camp and the preseason. Fortunately, the Pelicans were able to agree to a contract extension with him, signing him to another four years for a total of $112 million, even though he was absent during the preseason festivities. He is not expected to play in the season opener against the Chicago Bulls and could play a few more games early in the year.

Earlier this week, Dejounte Murray missed practice for “personal reasons.” He is questionable for Wednesday night's game, although head coach Willie Green is hopeful he will be available.

On Tuesday afternoon it was announced that Zion Williamson also missed training due to illness. According to NOLA.com's Christian Clark, both he and Murray will make decisions in the game against the Bulls.

Finally, another name surprisingly appeared on the injury report: Jose Alvarado. He is listed as day-to-day by the Pelicans with a right knee contusion.

Fortunately, none of these conditions should keep these players away for long periods of time. However, for a team that has struggled with injuries in the past and may have been without four substitute players at the start of the season, it certainly isn't a good omen. Hopefully these guys can return sooner rather than later and start to build chemistry between them, as the Pelicans have gone through some drastic changes in their structure and need to continue to evolve in order to keep up with their new staff and compete for a title.