Herb Jones out indefinitely with shoulder injury

Herb Jones out indefinitely with shoulder injury

Perhaps Dyson Daniels is right–maybe the New Orleans Pelicans are cursed.

That’s certainly how it’s felt to begin the 2024-25 season. An MRI revealed on Friday that forward Herb Jones suffered a posterior labrum tear in his right shoulder and will be out indefinitely, the team announced.

Jones has dealt with a shoulder injury throughout much of the season, keeping him out for over a month from Oct. 30 to Dec. 2. In 20 games, Jones has averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game, shooting just 43.6 percent from the floor and 30.6 percent from 3-point range after posting the most efficient season of his career.

The Pelicans, collectively, have been crushed by injuries all year–a big reason why it entered Friday at the bottom of the West at 7-31. Zion Williamson has missed all but seven games; Dejounte Murray has missed 17 games; CJ McCollum has missed a dozen games; Brandon Ingram‘s missed 21 games; Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins have both missed ample time.

The last time this season the Pelicans have been fully healthy was … well, they haven’t. On opening night, they were without Trey Murphy III due to injury; lo and behold, Murray broke his hand and missed a month. Everything spiraled downhill from there.

Jones is the team’s best defender, where most of his value lies. While each player’s role is different, Murray, Yves Missi, Javonte Green and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl can help pick up the slack. Jamal Cain has been thrust into a bigger role at certain points, and he can also defend.

Regardless, none of those guys are Herb Jones, and he isn’t them. It’s going to be a tall task to fill, though it may not matter much anyway with the trade deadline being less than a month away. There’s a world where this roster looks completely different, starting with trading Ingram.

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