New Orleans Pelicans dealt an unfortunate blow after hot start

After a hot start to the season, the New Orleans Pelicans must survive another potentially huge blow – an injury to CJ McCollum.

Through the first two weeks of the regular season, the New Orleans Pelicans have managed to once again get off to a hot start. Even while surviving a few injuries that transpired during the offseason, the Pelicans have managed to get off to a 4-2 start with their only two losses coming at the hands of the Golden State Warriors and the red-hot Atlanta Hawks.

The Pelicans have shown some encouraging signs this season, with the biggest of them being the fact that Zion Williamson has managed to stay away from the injury bug. He’s been the Pelicans’ best player this season as he’s led the team in scoring. Another big part of the Pelicans’ early-season success has been CJ McCollum’s consistent play as the theoretical No. 2 option next to Zion.

In six games, McCollum has averaged 22 points, six assists, and five rebounds on 44 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from 3-point range. Without his consistent play so far this season, it’s hard to imagine where the Pelicans would be. Especially considering Brandon Ingram has already missed half of the games so far this season.

But the Pelicans’ hot start to the season is officially in jeopardy. During a recent loss to the Atlanta Hawks, McCollum was injured and officially diagnosed with a collapsed lung. It’s an injury that he’s battled back from before and the last time he suffered this ailment, he ended up missing six weeks.

The New Orleans Pelicans will greatly miss CJ McCollum

McCollum is currently “out indefinitely” and is expected to be given a more firm timetable for a possible return soon. However, if this injury does end up being similar to what McCollum had to overcome previously, you’d have to imagine that the Pelicans star is going to be out for at least a month or a few weeks.

If that does end up being the case, it’s going to be a big blow to the momentum that the Pelicans have built through the first couple of weeks of the season.

There is so much that the Pelicans are playing for this season but this most recent injury to McCollum is not going to help matters any.

It may be a bit of a tall task to expect the Pelicans to survive for a month (at least) without their second-most productive player this season. But if they’re going to have any chance of making a second-half push, that’s almost something that they need to do.