Brandon Ingram has been diagnosed with a left knee bone contusion, the Pelicans announced (via Twitter). The injury was revealed in an MRI conducted this morning after Ingram hyperextended his knee during Thursday’s game against Orlando. He will be reevaluated in two weeks, according to the team.
Ingram suffered the injury while planting his left foot early in the third quarter, per Christian Clark of NOLA. He fell to the court in pain and could only put minimal pressure on the knee as he was helped to the locker room.
With just three and a half weeks remaining, there’s no guarantee that New Orleans will have Ingram back before the end of the regular season. If the reevaluation takes place in exactly two weeks, that would be April 5, leaving the team with just five games remaining before the season wraps up April 14.
The Pelicans are currently fifth in the West at 42-27, but they’re only two games ahead in the loss column of the Mavericks, Suns and Kings in a tight race to avoid the play-in tournament. New Orleans will travel to Phoenix on April 7 and Sacramento on April 11, so it would be beneficial to have Ingram back on the court by then.
Ingram is the Pelicans’ second-leading scorer at 20.9 PPG, along with 5.1 rebounds and a team-high 5.8 assists per night. Trey Murphy is expected to take on a bigger role until Ingram can return.