Pelicans' Brandon Ingram suffers bone bruise in knee, to be re-evaluated in two weeks

UPDATE: This is about as good of news as the Pelicans might have hoped.

An MRI revealed Brandon Ingram has a bone bruise in his knee, and he will be re-evaluated in two weeks. That means Ingram could be back on the court in time for the playoffs.

Knee bone bruises can be slow to heal and Ingram does not have a history of a guy who likes to play through pain, but this still is good news for the Pelicans' playoff hopes.

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This is a frightening situation, both for Brandon Ingram and a Pelicans team that has been playing its best basketball heading into the playoffs and is hoping for a deep postseason run.

Brandon Ingram had to be helped off the court during the third quarter of Thursday night's game in Orlando after a collision with Jalen Suggs, going to the ground and instantly grabbing his left knee.

"He's getting an MRI and some imaging done (on Friday)," head coach Willie Green said postgame, via NBA.com. "It's extremely difficult to see him go down. Our prayers will be going up tonight. Hopefully, we get some good news back."

Ingram is averaging 20.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per night and shooting 35.6% from 3. He is one of the team's primary shot creators, someone who brings a change-of-pace attack from Zion Williamson's style. Ingram is also a long, solid defender.

The Pelicans are the No. 5 seed in the West and are playing their best basketball heading into the playoffs. They are 1.5 games (two in the loss column) back of the stumbling No. 4 seed Clippers and 1.5 games ahead of the surging Mavericks and the Suns. A late-season swoon, especially if Ingram misses significant time, could put New Orleans in danger of falling into the play-in.