It’s been a while since we have heard from the Clippers leadership, but tonight, with training camp a week off, Lawrence Frank and Ty Lue spoke to the media. Amidst all the usual talk of playing faster, taking more threes, and having a stronger identity, some big news was dropped – Kawhi Leonard had a procedure this offseason on his troublesome knee.

This news might not be as shocking to non-Clippers fans as it is to the Clippers’ faithful. Every time we have heard about Kawhi this offseason it has been a similar story – he has swelling, and it’s going down slower than expected. The slow nature of his recovery seems to be why he was sent home from Team USA before the Olympics. Thus, even though nothing came up on the initial scans in March or April, it seemed very likely that a “scope” would need to be done to see what was going on.

Now, it’s unclear what kind of knee procedure happened and when it occurred (Update: A Shams and Law Murray report is that it happened in May). It can’t have been anything too serious – like an ACL – because there wouldn’t be talk of him doing strengthening drills in training camp. But it’s possible outside of the scope there was some other cleanup surgery done.

It seems that Kawhi’s knee swelling is finally going down – but is not fully gone yet. Lawrence Frank would not commit to Kawhi being ready for the start of the regular season, and if I had to make a prediction, I don’t think he’ll play on opening night. It’s grim news for the first season at the new Intuit Dome, and while I think the Clippers can at least be competitive without Kawhi for a few weeks, they are going to sink in the West standings if he’s out for too long.

In other news, Ty Lue said that starting spots outside of Harden, Kawhi, and Zu are up in the air. The presumed other starters have been Terance Mann and Derrick Jones Jr., but it’s possible Norm Powell, Amir Coffey, Nic Batum, or even Kris Dunn could make their way in as well. It will be interesting to see how the battles for rotation spots shape up in training camp and preseason.

In addition to Kawhi, Trentyn Flowers has a wrist injury and will be out for camp as well. Lawrence Frank also mentioned there were further injuries, but would not specify which players were effected and that updates would be provided as appropriate. Hopefully none are serious, as the Clippers are starting behind the eight-ball as it is. For now, all we can do is wait and see.

Kawhi Leonard had Offseason Knee Surgery
Robert Flom

The good vibes came to a careening halt early this evening with the news that the Clippers’ starting center and defensive anchor Ivica Zubac will miss at least four weeks of play with a right calf strain. To be more specific, he will be re-evaluated in four weeks, which means his absence will probably be a fair bit longer than that.

This is devastating news for the Clippers, as one could make the argument that Ivica Zubac’s skillset is the single most irreplaceable on the team. The Croatian big man was having a career year, averaging per-game highs in points and blocks with second-best marks in minutes, rebounds, and efficiency numbers. The rebounding and rim protection are items that the rest of the Clippers just can’t replicate.

The Clippers started Daniel Theis in Zu’s place against the Wolves on Sunday, but I’d expect that Mason Plumlee will be Zu’s replacement in the starting lineup (he will be tonight against the Thunder), as he brings a better facsimile of Zu’s size and rebounding than Theis. Plumlee and Theis are both solid rotation-level players, but neither is a starting-caliber player, and that hurts.

Another thing we will probably see more of is the Clippers going small, with Kawhi, Paul George, and James Harden joined by two of the Norm Powell, Russell Westbrook, Amir Coffey, and Terance Mann grouping. Those lineups can work, but I’m wary of them over a longer sample size.

This does also open the door for a trade for a better stopgap at starting center to keep the Clippers afloat in the interim. Clint Capela’s name has been present in trade talks, and while he’s nowhere near what he used to be, he’s still a big upgrade on Theis and Plumlee. He does have a $22M contract for next season, however, and that’s probably unpalatable for the Clippers as a backup. Another name is Kelly Olynyk on the Jazz, who would be a nice fit as a Zu replacement and complement, but who might cost too much for the asset-deprived Clippers to obtain.

For now, I’d expect the Clippers to stick with what they have, and then re-assess in a week or two depending on Zu’s progress and their play in the meanwhile. Hopefully Theis, Plumlee, and the rest of the Clippers are up to the challenge and Ivica Zubac is able to get long term health in that calf.

Ivica Zubac To Miss At Least Four Weeks with Calf Strain
Robert Flom

Well, the awaited update on Kawhi Leonard and his injury dropped today, as multiple outlets revealed he has a torn meniscus in his right knee. That’s the same knee on which he had the torn ACL nearly two years ago, and the same leg that was injured in his last season on the Spurs in 2018.

This isn’t the worst news possible, as meniscus tears are fairly common, have a not-lengthy recovery time, and are recoverable. Based on looking up information on the Cleveland Clinic and older reports on NBA players, depending on what course Kawhi Leonard takes (surgery vs just rehab), he should be ready for some basketball activities in three weeks to six months. Even with a conservative timetable, he should be ready for the start of the 2023-2024 regular season – or not miss more than a few weeks while getting into game shape.

The issues are threefold. One is that as mentioned above, Leonard’s injuries keep happening to the same leg/knee. I’m no doctor, but that seems bad. Similarly, this came after a couple weeks of intensive play, including high minutes loads in the playoffs and down the stretch of the regular season (with two back to backs). Can Kawhi’s leg really sustain such heavy use going forward? Only his doctors can really know, but making it only two games into the playoffs is depressing.

Second, Kawhi apparently injured his knee in Game 1 (which the Clippers won) and played through it in Game 2 before sitting the last three. Questions then arise on the decision-making there. Should the Clippers have allowed him to play in Game 2? Did he already have the tear and just delay the inevitable? Did he have a less severe injury that was exacerbated by playing in Game 2? It’s probably impossible to say, but Kawhi Leonard possibly playing Game 2 on a torn meniscus is a bad look – and him tearing it after being injured in Game 1 might be nearly as bad.

Finally, there’s the question of the Clippers’ opaqueness in reporting all this. After the injury was announced shortly before Game 3, Kawhi Leonard was reported as “game to game”. This was then made a bit worse in the coming days as the official reports of “knee sprain” and “no timetable for return” trickled out, but still, all that is very different from a torn meniscus. Did the Clippers know he had one several days ago and not just not report it? Did they just get the final diagnosis via MRI this morning? Did they know it was bad (enough to rule him out of the playoffs) but hold off for gamesmanship purposes? It’s a mystery, but the fact we even have to question is bad.

Ultimately, Kawhi Leonard should be “fine” in a few months. A meniscus tear is by no means a career-ending injury, and plenty of NBA players have recovered just fine. In some ways, the timing (heading straight into the offseason with plenty of time to recover) is ideal for the long-term. However, this is just another major downer on a season that was nothing short of a disaster, and calls into question further long-running issues with the Clippers.

The bottom line is that we wish Kawhi Leonard the best of luck and a speedy and complete recovery from his torn meniscus. Hopefully we see him back on the court in superstar mode in October!

Kawhi Leonard Suffers Torn Meniscus
Robert Flom

Ohm Youngmisuk and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN dropped twin bombs this afternoon, announcing that Kawhi Leonard would miss Game 3 against the Suns. Per Woj, Kawhi aggravated his knee in Game 1, aggravated it in Game 2, and is now game-to-game for Game 4 as well.

This is obviously a massive blow. Kawhi Leonard has been the best player in the series so far, and with Paul George out as well, a Clippers’ victory in Game 3 seems unlikely, with the Clippers taking massive blows on offense and defense. The only good news is that the knee injury is not related to his ACL tear from two years ago, and that it’s possible he will be back for Game 4.

With Kawhi Leonard out, I’d guess one of Terance Mann or Norm Powell will step into the starting unit in his stead. Norm would offer the most scoring punch and creation, but would make the Clippers very small. Mann adds defense and keeps some size, but would cramp spacing and make the offense even more Russell Westbrook heavy than it will already be. I think there’s also at least a chance Marcus Morris starts over Nic Batum to add more scoring, but I’d consider that unlikely.

With one of Norm or Mann in the starting unit, Morris and the seemingly forgotten Robert Covington are options to be added to the bench unit, though it’s also possible that Ty Lue simply goes with a tight 8 man rotation. I’d bet on Morris getting minutes over RoCo, both because of Ty’s preferences and for the true need of some shot creation. It’s also possible both see minutes to expand the rotation, or that the Clippers go small more to try to juice their offense.

Kawhi Leonard being out for Game 3 is a crushing blow. The Clippers were already at a talent disadvantage, and that gap will now be a chasm. To win this one they will need a superstar Russ game, fantastic play from role players, and a hot shooting night. It’s not impossible, as the Clippers are at home and do have depth, but without Kawhi the job will be much, much tougher at both end. Let’s just hope the injury isn’t serious and he’s back for Game 4.

Kawhi Leonard Ruled Out of Game 3 with Knee Sprain
Robert Flom

Well, this isn’t great. A few hours before the Clippers’ pivotal Game 3 tipoff in Dallas, the Athletic’s Shams Charania tweeted that Clippers center Serge Ibaka is likely out tonight.

This is bad news, if not entirely unsurprising after Ibaka played a mere 13 minutes in Game 1, 6 minutes in Game 2, and sat on the bench for the entire second half of the latter. Sure, Ibaka wasn’t playing great, but he wasn’t bad either, and he theoretically fits on the court against the Mavs. It seems like the Clippers won’t have him tonight, which will result in a whole cascade of other decisions.

Serge Ibaka was the Clippers’ backup center, but the Clips have increasingly turned towards small-ball in this series, with Marcus Morris or Nic Batum operating as the team’s center. That trend will likely continue in Game 3, with Ivica Zubac probably getting a short leash before getting pulled for the smaller lineups.

However, if the smaller units are ineffective, or Zu gets in foul trouble, the Clippers will have to turn to either Patrick Patterson or DeMarcus Cousins as the “true” backup center. Patterson offers three-point shooting and theoretically swifter perimeter defense, while Cousins provides some interior scoring, rebounding, and maybe some rim protection. In all likelihood, neither guy will play, or at least not more than a couple minutes if desperately needed, but I’d expect Cousins to get the call over PatPat despite his slowfooted defense.

While Serge Ibaka wasn’t playing much anyways, his being out for Game 3 thins out a Clippers’ roster that desperately needs production, and takes an alternative to Zu and small ball out of Ty Lue’s hands. Hopefully the Clippers can overcome the loss of their center and secure a victory on the road. If not, their season will be very, very close to over.

Serge Ibaka Injury Update: Clippers Center Out for Game 3
Robert Flom

In the pregame media Zoom call, coach Ty Lue announced that Marcus Morris would make his long-awaited return against the Warriors tonight. Morris has missed the first eight games of the season with a nebulous “knee soreness” designation, but has been practicing for a couple weeks, and there was no stated minutes restriction on the veteran forward.

In addition to Morris’ return, Paul George will play after missing yesterday’s game against the Spurs with an ankle injury, and Kawhi Leonard will notably play on the second night of a back to back, the first time he’s done so since 2017. This means the Clippers will have a complete roster for the first time this season, a very nice portent for the new year of 2021.

It’s unknown yet if Morris will start or not, a legitimate question considering how well Nicolas Batum has played in Morris’ absence. Bench or starter, Marcus Morris’ return should allow the Clippers to have two legitimate forwards on the court at all time, which should really help their defense.

Morris will presumably need a bit of time to get back up to speed, so it is probably best to keep expectations at a reasonable amount. But still, if Marcus Morris can hit a couple shots, play at least competent defense, and not mess with the Clippers’ newfound ball movement, it will be a successful return.

Marcus Morris To Return Against Warriors
Robert Flom

The Los Angeles Clippers made many changes during the offseason in an attempt to right their wrongs from the 2019-2020 season. By now you know of the changes: Ty Lue was promoted from assistant to head coach, Luke Kennard was brought in via trade, and Serge Ibaka was signed to essentially replace Montrezl Harrell, who crossed the hallway to join the Los Angeles Lakers. A reshaping and reconstruction of the team was meant to deliver a new beginning, but a knee injury to Marcus Morris has put a hold on those new plans getting all the way off the ground. Here’s what we know about the injury, and what implications it could have on the Clippers as they begin their season.

There isn’t much known about Marcus Morris’ injury other than what the team has made public — knee soreness that has thus far kept him out of the three preseason games and the opening night game against the Lakers. There’s some room for optimism, as head coach Ty Lue has informed the media that Morris has been practicing with the team. Video has even surfaced of Morris going through an on-court shooting workout prior to the team’s preseason game vs. the Utah Jazz, suggesting that the knee injury won’t be something of major concern for the newly inked $64 million man. However, the pessimistic Clippers fan in me (all of us, probably) takes me back to the 2018-2019 season, when Luc Mbah a Moute had a season-long knee soreness that relegated him to only four total games. But as things currently stand, we don’t have a lot of details and we’ll have to wait and see what happens in the coming days.

It was well documented just how out of sync last season’s team was with one another. The Clippers were only able to put together a small percentage of games with a fully healthy roster, and an even smaller percentage of practices with all players available. A culmination of injuries (both pre-season and in-season), trade-deadline acquisitions, and free agent signings left the Clippers with poor continuity and little team chemistry on the court. While leading scorers Kawhi Leonard and Paul George dealt with managing injuries throughout that season, their roles on the court were established from the moment they became Clippers. The same cannot be said for Morris, whose comfortability and fit was never fully executed — as shown by his shooting splits compared to his New York tenure. A condensed 2020-style offseason provided him and the rest of the guys an opportunity to step into training camp having healthy bodies, with the focus being on ironing out the wrinkles and establishing an understanding of their roles under a new coaching staff. So, having important players miss the first bits of the season isn’t exactly playing into the team’s new gameplan, but it’s the hand they’ve been dealt, and they’ll have to adjust to these kinds of situations better than they did last season.

That being said, the Clippers may be able to use Morris’ setback to their advantage early in this season. “What’s good about Marcus Morris missing time?,” you may ask. The question might sound silly, but his absence could serve as an experimental period for this new squad by evaluating players, schemes, and rotations through trial and error. Here’s how:

• Young players are going to have an opportunity to prove their value. It would be false to claim that the Clippers’ title hopes depend on the development of two sophomore bench players taking a step forward. However, the front office and coaching staff spent time this offseason addressing the importance of player development, an area that they wanted to make improvements in. With Morris out, more minutes are available for players to play their way into rotations and hopefully prove to be valuable pieces going forward. Terance Mann will look to build off of a good preseason in which he asserted himself into the competition of battling Reggie Jackson for rotation minutes alongside Lou Williams and Luke Kennard, while Mfiondu Kabengele has a chance at competing with Patrick Patterson for the third big-man spot. Neither Mann nor Kabengele saw the court much in Tuesday’s win, but Patterson and Jackson weren’t particularly good in their minutes. This will be something to keep an eye on if the injury to Marcus Morris lingers.

• Veteran’s will ramp up quicker. Additional minutes could be beneficial for the veteran role players as well. Veteran forward Nic Batum started for the injured Morris in Tuesday’s win and played 28 minutes. Those minutes will surely be reduced once Morris returns, but it’s good for Batum to get these early season reps and opportunities being that he didn’t see the court much last season. Batum had a solid performance based on what we expect from him and it’ll be interesting to see if this temporary uptick in minutes will be beneficial in the long run.

• Ty Lue and the new coaching staff will be creative with lineups. Lue already shook things up a bit during the preseason by announcing that newly signed Serge Ibaka would be starting at center over long-time starter Ivica Zubac, but committed to being experimental throughout the course of the season. Perhaps one of Lue’s greatest traits as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers was his ability to adjust his rotations based on performance and matchups, and through one regular season game, we’ve already seen this. Against the Lakers, Zubac played 27 minutes to Ibaka’s 21. Ty Lue willingly left Zubac in the game for long spurts because of his impact and activity around the rim, and he finished tied for a team high plus-17. Perhaps more importantly, Reggie Jackson entered the game to begin the second quarter, had a negative impact on the flow of the offensive in just three minutes of play, and then was relegated to the bench for the remainder of the game. It was quite pleasant to see a coach managing rotations based on game-flow, and we should be able to count on seeing more of it.

Through three preseason games and one regular season game, it seems as though the team chemistry is in a good place. Guys are saying all the right things and seem noticeably happier than they did last season. Marcus Morris’ injury is a legit bummer for this team, and it will be worth monitoring if this iteration of the Clippers can maintain cohesion and chemistry as they deal with these very situations that plagued them last season. However, while there’s some reason for negativity, the ability to give other players opportunities early in the season and experiment with some outside-the-box lineups could be a boon in the long-term.

The Marcus Morris Injury: Impact & Implications
Cole Huff

The Clippers just announced that starting power forward Marcus Morris is out for tomorrow’s opening night game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Morris missed all of preseason with knee soreness, and that is the same injury keeping him out against the Lakers.

New arrival Nicolas Batum started in Morris’ absence in preseason, and it seems highly likely that he starts tomorrow’s game as well. Batum has mostly played small forward and shooting guard in his career, but is a better defender against forwards at this point in his career. A low-usage veteran who can theoretically stretch the floor, make plays for others, and defend multiple positions, Batum is a fine fit with the starting lineup. However, he lacks Morris’ shot creation and scoring, and his shooting dipped significantly last season.

Patrick Patterson will probably back up Batum at power forward, with Mfiondu Kabengele and Daniel Oturu in deep reserve. Before playing those guys, the Clippers could also play Serge Ibaka at forward alongside Ivica Zubac, or bump Kawhi Leonard down a position and play him at the four. Ibaka is really not a power forward at this point in his career, and Kawhi’s minutes there have been limited to reduce wear and tear, but in the short term both are viable enough options.

The greater issue, however, is the long term. Morris has now been out for weeks with a vague “soreness” designation, and while he has been practicing at least a bit, that lack of clarity on his situation is worrying. This Clippers team does not have another starting level power forward on the roster, as they did last year with JaMychal Green, and both Batum and Patterson are major steps down from Morris. If Morris misses a lot of time, the Clippers’ starting unit and bench lineup will be worse, which might result in a shakier start to the season. More worrying, the Clippers will not be able to build up as much chemistry in the starting unit as they might like – lack of reps was a huge issue last season, and it’s one of the big problems that should be remedied this year.

Maybe Morris is only out for a few games. Hopefully so, because while one game against the Lakers doesn’t mean a whole lot, each contest that passes without him damages the Clippers in the now and throughout the length of the season.

Marcus Morris Out Against Lakers on Opening Night
Robert Flom

Just as soon as a player returns, another goes down. While Lou Williams returned for the Clippers today, Pat Beverley is questionable to return for the Clippers with an injury designated as calf soreness after playing just eight minutes in the first quarter. He has not returned since, and doesn’t appear to be warming up, so he will probably miss the rest of this one.

However, he didn’t warm up at halftime, and doesn’t appear closing to checking in, so it’s safe to say he will be out for the rest of the game. Fortunately, “calf soreness” seems very mild, and the fact that he’s even questionable to return means that the injury is probably not serious.

Hopefully that’s the case, because Pat Beverley is an absolutely crucial piece to this Clippers roster. They have had a singularly poor record in games without Beverley over the past couple years, and it’s because his defense, shooting, and energy is irreplaceable. He’s a leader on this team, and is respected by everyone on the squad, from the superstars to the rookies. Any absence by him will cost the Clippers dearly.

Pat Beverley might be questionable with an injury, but the Clippers are still playing, so go over and check out the game on NBA TV or Fox Sports Prime Ticket if you haven’t already!

Pat Beverley Questionable to Return Against Suns with Calf Injury
Robert Flom

In somewhat surprising news, Doc Rivers announced in the Clippers pregame press conference that Pat Beverley will play tonight against the Lakers. Now, he was ruled as questionable in the pre-game injury report, but he didn’t shoot around with the team this morning and has been out of Orlando for a couple weeks, so he presumably won’t have a ton of rhythm with the rest of the team. Prime Ticket has noted that Pat won’t start, which makes sense – the bench unit will already be disrupted without Lou and Trez, while the starting lineup has at least gained some steam during the scrimmages.

Doc did say that he’s not sure how many minutes Pat will play, so it’s quite possible we see him for a very limited stretch tonight as he plays his way back into game shape and into chemistry with the rest of the squad. However, even a little bit of Pat Beverley can go a long way, and his defense, energy, and shooting will be welcome boosts for the Clippers in a tough game against the Lakers.

What this means for the rest of the team depends on how much Pat will play. If Doc is comfortable giving him even 15 minutes, Terance Mann will probably be out of the rotation, and Amir Coffey and Rodney McGruder will see their minutes squeezed as well. While all those guys have looked effective at times, Pat Beverley is certainly a step up, and the more minutes that go to him rather than 3rd stringers, the better. One of Coffey and McGruder will probably still get minutes, though, and it will be interesting to see which one Doc turns too now that the games matter.

Having Pat Beverley play against the Lakers is a big deal, too, because of the fight that he always brings to this matchup. His defense on LeBron might be somewhat more entertaining than it is effective (though it’s had its highlights), but his ability to get his teammates energized is second to none (though Montrezl Harrell is close), and that will be hugely important in the bubble without fans and crowd noise. Welcome back, Pat!

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Patrick Beverley to Play Against Lakers
Robert Flom