Brandon Ingram's 1st Playoffs Since Leaving Pelicans Goes From Bad to Worse

The New Orleans Pelicans aren't participating in the playoffs for the second straight season, but some of the key players who were a part of their last postseason run are. While CJ McCollum has been putting on a show for the Atlanta Hawks, the same can't be said about Brandon Ingram's playoffs with the Toronto Raptors.

After struggling immensely in the first four games of their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ingram's postseason took an unfortunate turn. In the second quarter of Game 5 in Cleveland, Ingram suffered a heel injury, went to the locker room, and didn't return.

Raptors beat reporter Josh Lewenberg said that it was an aggravation of his "lingering heel injury", and the team tried to re-tape it and test it in the second half, but Ingram wasn't able to. The All-Star forward will be evaluated tomorrow to determine his Game 6 status.

Brandon Ingram heads to the locker room with 7:32 minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter due to an injury - did not return since. pic.twitter.com/YQICFRlUVm
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 30, 2026

Ex-Pelican Brandon Ingram Continues to Come Up Short for the Raptors

Before exiting the game, Ingram's struggles were continuing. In 11 minutes of action, Ingram was 0/2 from the field and had one point, two assists, and one turnover.

Upon Ingram's exit, the Raptors went on a nice run and built a double-digit lead in the third quarter. Then Sandro Mamukelashvili exited the game with an injury, and Scottie Barnes started to feel the effect of the quad injury he suffered in the first half, and the Raptors ran out of gas towards the end. With Immanuel Quickley still being out in the series, Toronto was left very short-handed and was only able to score 17 points in the fourth quarter.

The Raptors still have a chance to make a comeback with the series headed back to Toronto for a Game 6 on Friday, but they will need more from Ingram.

First of all, they need him to suit up, even if he is hobbled. The Raptors don't have enough offensive weapons without the 28-year-old small forward. Secondly, they need Ingram to find a way to be aggressive and efficient.

Through the first five games of the series, Ingram is shooting 32.8% from the field and averaging 12 points and 2.2 assists in 29.6 minutes per game. More concerning than that is the fact that he is only taking 11.6 shots per game after averaging 16.7 in the regular season.

Ingram complained about his lack of touches after Game 1, and the Raptors have been more intentional about getting him the ball. In Game 4, he took a whopping 23 shots, but only made six. In Game 5, he was back to being an afterthought offensively before he exited with his injury.

Pelicans fans are familiar with Ingram's postseason struggles and frustrating inconsistency. While he had his big postseason moments as a Pelican, he also had a massive dud in his last playoff series in New Orleans against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is now running out of time to make an impact on his new team before they are eliminated.

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