Pelicans’ Jrue Holiday Out At Least Three More Weeks After Aggravating Leg Injury

It looks like the  New Orleans Pelicans will have to wait until next year for its arduous re-building project to payoff come spring. The team announced today that point guard Jrue Holiday will be out at least three additional weeks after aggravating the stress injury in his right leg.

Per the Pelicans’ website:

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that guard Jrue Holiday aggravated the stress reaction in his lower right leg Monday. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks by the team’s medical staff. A timetable for his return will be announced at a later date as more information is available.

Holiday has missed New Orleans’ last 16 games after suffering the injury in mid-January during a loss to the Boston Celtics. The team has gone 9-7 in his absence, a mark especially solid considering Anthony Davis was sidelined the past three games with shoulder pain following a hard fall against the Chicago Bulls.

But that record paints an optimistic picture of the Pelicans’ longer-term prospects without their point guard. They’ve been over 10 points per 100 possessions better with Holiday on the floor compared to the bench when he’s healthy this season, and his 98.3 off-court offensive rating is the squad’s worst mark. And though the 24 year-old’s poor defensive numbers align with New Orleans’ overall, he’s still Monty Williams’ best perimeter defender – by a healthy margin.

The Pelicans are just a game-and-half back of Phoenix for eighth in the West and Oklahoma City is sandwiched between them. Given that New Orleans was always longest shot of the three teams to emerge from the muck and earn a playoff berth, Holiday’s latest setback just makes its odds even longer.

[Pelicans]

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