New Orleans Pelicans face more time without Elfrid Payton as fractured finger needs surgery
Sunday 18 November 2018 10:42, UK
The New Orleans Pelicans are unsure how long Elfrid Payton will be absent from their line-up after confirming he needs surgery on a fractured finger.
Payton returned from a sprained ankle on Friday night against the New York Knicks but lasted only eight minutes before suffering another injury that will keep him out of the line-up indefinitely.
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The point guard had missed nine games with his ankle issue and Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry admitted it was up in the air how long this absence would be.
"There's not a whole lot we can know about it until then," Gentry said on Saturday after explaining that Payton would go under the knife "sometime next week".
"The great thing about it is he'll be able to keep himself physically in shape.
"It's his off-shooting hand so he'll still be able to do some stuff on the floor. We just have to see how long, from a medical standpoint, he will be out."
Jrue Holiday moved back to point guard for the rest of Friday's game and played there again on Saturday when the Pelicans beat the Denver Nuggets 125-115.
He scored 19 points and dished out eight assists, while Wesley Johnson returned to a starting role after playing only 12 minutes against the Knicks - he had six points and six rebounds.
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