The New Orleans Pelicans announced that guard CJ McCollum has been diagnosed with a small collapsed right lung after undergoing medical imaging Sunday morning. McCollum is expected to undergo additional examination in the next 48 hours to determine how the lung is healing.
Per the Pelicans:
“The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that guard CJ McCollum has been diagnosed with small pneumothorax in his right lung after medical imaging was taken this morning. Additional examination will be performed in the next 48 hours to determine the progress of healing. More information will be provided following examination.”
McCollum has played in all six games for New Orleans this season, and has gotten out to a strong start while averaging 21.7 points, 5.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds. His strong play has helped the Pelicans start the season 4-2.
It’s unclear how much time McCollum will miss with the diagnosis. New Orleans’ next game is Monday on the road against the defending champion Denver Nuggets, followed by two more road games this week against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets. Missing McCollum for those games would be a sizable loss for a New Orleans team that is already without several key role players in Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III. McCollum is the second-leading scorer for the Pelicans, so losing his 20+ points a game is a significant void to fill.
CBS Sports will update this story once additional information becomes available
