The hits keep coming for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Currently on a nine-game losing streak, and already without Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic, the Clippers will now be without Patrick Beverley for the entire season. According to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski, Beverley underwent surgery on his right knee. There is currently not a timeline for his return, but Wojnarowski later reported that he would be out for the season. Via ESPN:
LA Clippers starting point guard Patrick Beverley underwent a surgical procedure on his right knee Wednesday, league sources tell ESPN.
Although there is no immediate timetable for his return, Beverley is expected to miss a significant amount of time, league sources said.
Clippers guard Patrick Beverley will miss the rest of the season, league sources tell ESPN. His surgery required a repair of a microfracture and meniscus injury to his right knee.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 22, 2017
Beverley previously missed five games from Nov. 10-18, but returned on Monday night in the Clippers' loss to the Knicks. It appears now, however, that the decision to do so may not have been wise.
After arriving from the Houston Rockets in the Chris Paul trade, Beverley made waves on opening night for his trash talk and subsequent bullying of Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball. And with the Clippers starting out 4-0, everything was looking great post-CP3. Since then, the Clippers have won just once in their last 12 games, and as noted above, are currently stuck on a nine-game losing streak.
With both Beverley and Teodosic sidelined, the Clippers are extremely thin at point guard. In Beverley's previous absences, second-round pick Jawun Evans has been getting most of the backup minutes behind Austin Rivers, and moving forward he's likely to continue to play somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes a night.
The Clippers aren't going to lose forever, but with Beverley out for the remainder of the season, it's going to be hard to get things back on track in a tough Western Conference.
