3 Pelicans Starters Pop Up on the Injury Report Ahead of Thursday's Clash vs. Kings

The New Orleans Pelicans had built some momentum coming out of the All-Star break. They had won four straight games, Dejounte Murray had finally returned to action, and there was even talk about potentially chasing a Play-In spot. The Pelicans had all of their players healthy for the first time this season in Tuesday's loss at Crypto.com Arena, giving fans something to cheer for ahead of the final stretch of the season.

After back-to-back losses in LA, first to the Clippers, then to the Lakers, however, the Pelicans have come down to earth. Unfortunately, their streak of having all of their players available did not last very long, either.

Dejounte Murray Out, Zion Williamson & Trey Murphy Questionable vs. Kings

Ahead of Thursday night's game in Sacramento against the Kings, the Pelicans are dealing with injury concerns to multiple key contributors. On the official injury report, Dejounte Murray is listed as out, while Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy have questionable tags.

Murray's absence is understandable. He is listed with "return to competition reconditioning," which suggests a precautionary measure. The Pelicans travel to Phoenix to face the Suns on Friday, and Murray is not ready to play both legs of back-to-backs just yet. New Orleans may have thought that it made more sense for the veteran guard to play in the tougher game of the two. The former All-Star guard should be ready to go on Friday.

Williamson and Murphy's presence on the report is somewhat concerning. Williamson was dealing with an ankle sprain ahead of the Lakers game and was listed as questionable before suiting up and playing 33 minutes. Even though he led the team in scoring with 24 points, it wasn't one of his best performances, as he finished with zero assists and two turnovers. The fact that he is still on the injury report suggests that he is still not 100% and is playing through a lingering ankle issue.

Murphy landed on the injury report with neck spasms, which is a surprising designation as he was able to finish the game against the Lakers on Tuesday. The sharpshooting forward missed five games after the All-Star break, dealing with a shoulder contusion. Whether this new injury will cause him to miss any time remains to be seen.

The Kings, on the other hand, are dealing with a more extensive injury list. They had already ruled out Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and De'Andre Hunter for the season, which has helped in their tanking efforts. In addition to the three veterans, Keegan Murray and Dylan Cardwell will also miss Thursday's game against the Pelicans.