The Los Angeles Clippers’ preseason injury toll took another blow on Sunday, after veteran forward Max Strus exited Sunday’s preseason 104-101 victory in Hawaii against the Golden State Warriors with a non-contact injury.
On Monday, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Strus suffered a partial plantar fasciitis tear in his right foot and will be reevaluated again in four weeks.
Strus’ injury happened just five minutes into the game after he cut across a lane to receive a pass.
After he caught it, he immediately struggled to put any weight on his right foot and came out of the game, limping to Los Angeles’ locker room after head coach Ty Lue called a timeout.
According to beat writer Joey Linn, Lue spoke about the injury during postgame and said, “That’s never good to see when it’s a non-contact.”
The loss of Strus hurts the Clippers as he will miss the start of the regular season, alongside Brandon Ingram, who was acquired from the Toronto Raptors in the Kawhi Leonard trade.
Los Angeles will be without Ingram when the season starts as he is recovering from a partially torn Achilles surgery he had in May.
So far, Ingram has engaged in light work on the basketball court but hasn’t progressed much.
On top of the two’s absence, both Bradley Beal (right knee inflammation) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot) are also out.
Los Angeles landed Strus in August, as he was acquired by the Cavaliers in a multi-team trade that sent Peyton Watson from the Denver Nuggets to Cleveland.
Both Strus and Ingram were expected to be the key shooters for the Clippers this year, as Strus has averaged 10.4 points and 2.8 three-pointers per game.
