No more fighting! Goodbye Clippers! The starting core suffers a grade 2 sprain

Adding insult to injury, misfortunes keep piling up, making things even tougher... The Clippers are accelerating their descent.

Insider Shams:Zubac has sustained a grade 2 sprain on his left ankle. Reporter Haynes further stated that Zubac will be out for at least three weeks.

Zubac was injured in the recent Clippers’ 103-88 city derby against the Lakers; he unfortunately twisted his ankle after stepping on LeBron James while landing from a floater near the end of the first quarter.

The cost of this victory for the Clippers was extremely high.

Zubac is the Clippers’ absolute interior anchor, having started all 28 games this season, averaging 32 minutes, contributing 15.6 points, 11.1 rebounds (3.4 offensive boards), 2.5 assists, and 1 block per game, shooting 60.9% from the field. Losing him will heavily impact the team on both ends of the court.

It appears that 37-year-old DeAndre Jordan must step up to replace Zubac as the Clippers’ new starting center. So far this season, Jordan averages 14.7 minutes, scoring 6 points and grabbing 2 rebounds per game, shooting 37.3% and making 1.3 three-pointers per game, with his strength being floor spacing.

If that doesn’t work, the 2.06-meter-tall Collins can also fill in at the five spot. This guy has excellent athleticism and versatile offensive skills. If the Clippers run a small-ball lineup, he might be surprisingly effective, possibly even beating the Thunder with a fast-paced attack, similar to what the Trail Blazers do.

Alright then, if the Clippers make a bunch of old veterans play fast, the hospitals in Los Angeles will be overwhelmed in no time.

So far, the Clippers stand at 7 wins and 21 losses, ranking 13th in the Western Conference,with an average of 97.4 possessions per game, second slowest in the league, and 12.5 fast-break points per game, ranking 27th,making them one of the slowest-paced teams in today’s NBA. This style feels out of place in modern basketball, mainly because Harden (36 years old) and Leonard (34 years old) are both too old, forcing the team to rely on half-court sets.

The Clippers currently trail the 10th-seeded Trail Blazers by 5 games in the West. They aimed for a championship this summer but now struggle just to secure a play-in spot. Their unprotected first-round pick for next year is held by the defending champion Thunder, so no matter what, moving forward is their only option.