BROOKLYN – After a bit of a scare Saturday that left him with some temporary blurry vision, it appears New Orleans forward and leading scorer Brandon Ingram will be OK and is likely to be back on the court Monday. Ingram exited Saturday’s loss in Oklahoma City during the first half, after he was accidentally elbowed by a Thunder player that he believes was second-year wing Hamidou Diallo.
“On a rebound, I think it was Hamidou, came down and hit me with an elbow on my head,” Ingram said at Monday’s morning shootaround. “I kind of got in a daze a little bit and my vision was a little blurry. Usually when that happens, (the blurry vision) goes away, but it didn’t this time. I wanted to be precautious and go back and look at it. But I just got hit in the head.”
Ingram said he will play at Barclays Center as long as he feels properly and is ready to perform at his normal capabilities.
“Just feeling good,” Ingram said, when asked specifically what it will take for him to play tonight. “Having the energy. Getting out here and feeling the same way I have on every other gameday.”
Other notes from Pelicans shootaround at Barclays Center:
In addition to Ingram being sidelined Saturday, the Pelicans were also without the other two-thirds of their projected starting frontcourt, but it’s possible Derrick Favors will return soon, potentially even Monday at Brooklyn. Favors has been out with knee soreness, but indicated that he will be a game-time decision against the Nets.
“I’m talking to the trainers and listening to my body. I will see how I feel,” Favors said, after participating in shootaround.
Favors has played 70-plus games in six of his eight 82-game schedules during his NBA career, making it somewhat of a rarity for him to be sidelined. It’s been difficult for him to sit out New Orleans’ last three games, but he said he’s trying to be smart with his health.
“It’s tough (to sit out), but once your body starts talking to you after 10 years in the league, you’ve got to start listening to it,” the 28-year-old said. “It’s still early in the season, so I don’t want to get some (injury) that lingers throughout the whole year, where I have to sit out more games. It’s about us being smart and me listening to the trainers. Making sure I do what’s right for my body.” …
Alvin Gentry on the Pelicans losing several close games, partly due to being outplayed late in fourth quarters: “We’ve got to do a better job of executing down the stretch. It was a one-possession game (in Oklahoma City) and we had a couple poor possessions. You can’t afford to do that on the road.”
Favors on the same topic: “It’s a process. We’ve had a lot of close losses, then we had a bad loss at home to Golden State. It’s a learning process – we’ve got a lot of young guys, a lot of new guys here. Hopefully we can learn from these games about how to value every possession, try to limit mistakes and limit ‘My bad!’ mistakes. It’s a long season. Keep improving, keep learning from games and hopefully get better.” …
Gentry on the defensive focus while facing Brooklyn high-scoring guard Kyrie Irving (second in NBA at 30.5 points per game): “You’ve just got to try to limit his easy baskets. He’s a little bit like Steph Curry, in that those are guys are really good at making tough shots. You have to live with some of the tough shots. You’ve got to try to keep him out of the paint as much as possible, and that’s easier said than done.”
