According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Clippers star wing Paul George suffered a sprained right knee in last night’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks.

This is ultimately good news for the Clippers, who had much greater fears after George had to be helped off the floor following a scary collision with Lu Dort that saw his knee bend backwards slightly. Still, it’s definitely not ideal–currently in 5th place and just one loss ahead of the play-in tournament pack and two losses ahead of 12th place, the team needs to find wins in their remaining games and will be tasked with doing so without their second-best player. They have 9 games remaining, perhaps none bigger than tomorrow night’s rematch against the Thunder, who currently sit in 7th and are among several teams competing for what are essentially 2 up-for-grabs top-6 playoff spots, currently occupied by the Clippers and Warriors.

A two-week re-evaluation for George would come on April 5th, which is the day of the Clippers’ third-to-last game. Their regular season finale is April 9th. A potential 7-8 “first round” play-in tournament game would be on April 11th. A three-week re-evaluation for George would come on April 12th, the same date as the 9-10 play-in tournament game. The final play-in games will be held on April 14th, with first round playoff series kicking off on April 15th and 16th. Obviously the “re-evaluation” is the key term here–what if they look at it in 3 weeks and decide he needs another 2 weeks? That would put him out until the second round of the playoffs, which wouldn’t be an easy place for the Clippers to get without him. Still, there’s some level of hope: a 5-4 finish to the regular season without George feels reasonable and would probably leave the Clippers in the top 6, depending on how other teams finish. Then, they’d have the play-in week off during his re-evaluation window to hopefully take another look and start ramping him back up for the first round.

In the meantime, the Clippers will need to lean more heavily on Kawhi Leonard to be a consistent 30+ point scorer. Look for Eric Gordon to move into the starting lineup, with sixth man scorer Norman Powell hopefully returning soon and rediscovering his January form to bring a scoring punch off the bench. Clippers coach Ty Lue is also likely to continue leaning heavily on Russell Westbrook and Marcus Morris, who offer higher-volume offensive creation than the alternatives at their position. I’d also love to see the team use this opportunit as an excuse to feature Ivica Zubac more on offense, as he’s been effective in limited post-up touches this season.

We’re far from out of the woods, but this is a good piece of news. If nothing else, it hopefully can assauge concerns that this injury could cost the Clippers a significant piece of next season as well.

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Paul George to be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks with sprained right knee
Lucas Hann

Clippers starting point guard Patrick Beverley will be out after he underwent surgery Friday morning for a right hand fracture, the team announced in a statement. Beverley is set to be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks, but there is no timetable for his return.

It’s the latest in a string of unfortunate injuries for the Clippers guard, who has played just 31 games this season, with many of those appearances coming with a strict minutes restriction. He was playing in just his second game back after missing 12 games with knee soreness when he fractured his hand chasing a rebound in the fourth quarter against the Suns last night.

If Beverley misses the 3-4 week period mentioned in the release, he would potentially return between the team’s May 1st game against the Denver Nuggets and their May 9th game against the New York Knicks. In each case, he would have either 8 or 5 games to get into a rhythm before the Clippers conclude their regular season and the playoffs begin. However, a return in the first week of May is probably unlikely–the Clippers suggested that he would be re-evaluated in that window, but cautioned that an actual return date was unknown and he would be out indefinitely.

The resulting situation might not be unlike last season in the bubble, when Beverley suffered a calf strain, missed the team’s 5 final regular-season games, and attempted to return for game 1 of the playoffs but ultimately missed the remainder of the first round. When he actually returned for the team’s second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, his minutes were drastically restricted and he simply wasn’t himself in terms of both being fully healthy and being in rhythm. However, new Clipper Rajon Rondo actually also found himself in a similar situation last season. He fractured his thumb in the pre-restart practices inside the Orlando Bubble and missed all eight of the Lakers’ seeding games and their entire first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. But when he returned for the second round, he hit the ground running, serving as one of the Lakers’ best role players during their title run.

Rondo will now be among the Clipper guards tasked with taking on greater responsibility in Beverley’s absence. While he’s also sidelined for tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets, expect Rondo to receive serious consideration to start at point guard. His main competition for the role will be tonight’s starter, Reggie Jackson, who has had a strong season and started 28 games as an injury replacement. Additionally, Jackson and Rondo serving as the team’s only two point guards will surely free up new opportunities in the backcourt for youngsters Terance Mann and Luke Kennard, both of whom have been squeezed out of the rotation.

Patrick Beverley Out With Hand Fracture, Re-Evaluated in 3-4 Weeks
Lucas Hann

According to Andrew Greif of the LA Times, Clippers rookie Jayden Scrubb will be out 3-4 months after he has surgery this week to insert a screw in his right foot:

Jay Scrubb, the 6-foot-6 guard drafted 55th overall, will undergo surgery this week to insert a screw in his right foot, according to a person with knowledge of the plan who asked for anonymity to discuss the player’s health. The recovery is expected to take three to four months. Scrubb was the junior college player of the year and will receive one of the team’s two two-way contracts. He has explosive athleticism, and the surgery is a step to maintain it in the future.

Scrubb was the 55th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft earlier this month, chosen by the Clippers after they swapped picks 55 and 57 as part of the larger 3-team deal featuring Luke Kennard and Landry Shamet. The National Junior College Player of the Year last season, Scrubb is the rare NBA rookie who comes into the league without experience either in Division I or other professional leagues.

At 20 years old and 6’6″, Scrubb was set to play at Louisville this season before foregoing that opportunity to enter the draft. The Clippers signed him to a two-way contract for the upcoming season. Based on his draft position and background, it had already seemed likely that Scrubb was set to essentially redshirt this season and focus on long-term development to be ready to make an impact in the NBA in 1-2 seasons, when he would have entered the league had he gone to Louisville. The surgery recovery essentially guarantees that, as this procedure will not only hold him out of his rookie year training camp, but also cause him to miss the large majority of the season.

In a year that should already be difficult for rookies, who won’t get Summer League reps and had just a couple of weeks between the draft and training camp to get settled in a new city and work with their new coaches, Scrubb will also be missing training camp and months of potential G-League, practice, and garbage time reps. Expectations, then, should be set to 0–and that’s okay. Jayden was always more of a long-term prospect for the Clippers than a short-term one, and his health and development is far more important than his availability this year.

However, with the team keeping their 15th roster spot open due to hard cap constraints, having one of their two-way players essentially on the IR for most of the season will limit their emergency depth. Fellow two-way prospect Amir Coffey, who is allowed to spend up to 50 games on the team’s active roster, will serve as the team’s de facto 15th man and third-string wing.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Jayden Scrubb Out 3-4 Months Following Foot Surgery
Lucas Hann

After suffering a shorthanded defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, there are no major updates on the Clippers’ injury report vs the Pelicans.

According to an update from Clippers PR, the team’s superb bench duo of Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams remain out. While starting point guard Patrick Beverley had his “questionable” designation removed, reserve wing Amir Coffey is now considered questionable with a left hip pointer.

Williams is undergoing a 10-day quarantine following a controversial trip to pick up a to-go order from a strip club while away from the Orlando bubble on an excused absence to attend a funeral. He is expected to be back with the team for their Tuesday game against the Phoenix Suns.

Harrell, on the other hand, has been away from the bubble for two weeks, since July 17th, and has yet to arrive back in Orlando and begin his re-entry quarantine, which is expected to last four days. Montrezl is dealing with a family situation, so while there’s no real update on his status, all we can do is hope for the best for him and his loved ones.

Patrick Beverley played just 16 minutes in the Clippers’ first game after being listed as questionable due to his re-entry quarantine from a family emergency of his own. Hopefully as Beverley ramps up to game speed he can play more minutes, but it’s important for the team to be patient with players to avoid fatigue injuries.

The new addition to the Clippers’ injury report vs the Pelicans is rookie guard Amir Coffey. Coffey, who was signed to a two-way contract by the team after going undrafted last summer, ended up coming to Orlando ahead of first-round pick Mfiondu Kabengele. On Thursday against the Lakers, he was Rivers’ chosen depth piece in Williams’ absence, playing 5 minutes ahead of fellow rookie Terance Mann and veteran Rodney McGruder. Hopefully Coffey’s hip pointer is minor enough that he can play unencumbered and continue to grow as a player.

Clippers Injury Report vs Pelicans: Harrell, Williams out; Coffey questionable
Lucas Hann