Pelicans Injury Report vs. Clippers: Will Dejounte Murray Play?

The New Orleans Pelicans host the Los Angeles Clippers on the first night of a back-to-back and hope to build upon their momentum. Having won ten out of their last 16 games, the Pelicans are in the midst of a hot streak, giving their fans something to cheer for in the final stretch of the season. They have a health advantage against the Clippers on Wednesday night, as they will be at full strength besides Bryce McGowens, who is dealing with a toe fracture and will miss his fourth straight game.

Dejounte Murray Available, Kawhi Leonard Questionable in Pelicans-Clippers Clash on Wednesday

Dejounte Murray had missed the Pelicans' previous game with an illness. He was listed as questionable heading into Wednesday's game, but his status was converted to available a few hours before tipoff. This will give the Pels a boost as they look to improve to 24-46 for the season.

In Murray's absence, head coach James Borrego had inserted Yves Missi into the starting lineup. With Murray back, he will surely take his starting spot back, and the Pelicans will go back to their centerless starting unit of Murray, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey, and Zion Williamson.

What will be fascinating to watch is whether Murray will be able to play on the second night of the back-to-back against the Clippers on Thursday. The 29-year-old guard hasn't played on back-to-back nights since his return from the Achilles rupture. It's difficult to imagine he would take that risk at this point in the season, but considering his incredible performance since his return, nothing should be ruled out.

The Clippers, on the other hand, are dealing with a longer injury list. In addition to Bradley Beal and Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who have been ruled out for the season, LA will be without Bennedict Mathurin. The dynamic scorer is dealing with a toe injury and will miss the next three games.

Kawhi Leonard tweaked his ankle over the weekend and missed the Clippers' game on Monday against the Spurs. He is still listed as questionable and will be a game-time decision against the Pelicans. Joining him with a questionable tag with a "rest" designation is veteran forward Nicolas Batum.

Darius Garland, whose load the Clippers are managing right now, was listed as questionable all day but was cleared to play a few hours before the game. Whether he will be able to suit up tomorrow, however, remains to be seen.

The Pelicans will desperately want to keep their hot streak going against the short-handed Clippers, and the injury report gives them a good chance to do so.