LOS ANGELES – The LA Clippers canceled a scheduled shootaround on Tuesday morning due to precautionary reasons related to the NBA's health and safety protocols.

This comes after Nicolas Batum was a late scratch from Sunday afternoon's game against the Dallas Mavericks. The Clippers forward was initially ruled out 30 minutes before tipoff due to an illness, but tested positive for COVID-19 and has been subject to the league's protocols. He's expected to be out at least 10 days from Sunday or until he returns two negative tests within a 24-hour period.

“I'm not sure the days, but I expect him to be out,” Tyronn Lue said following Sunday's game. “I'm not sure the timetable, though.”

The canceling of Tuesday's morning shootaround is not expected to affect the status of the Clippers-Mavs game later Tuesday night.

Outside of a brief quarantine period for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George pre-vaccine, the Clippers were able to avoid any issues due to COVID-19 protocols last season.

“Last year, we did a good job of staying away from that,” Tyronn Lue added. “But it's been something that's gonna hit everyone at some point in time. Just gotta be smart about it and make sure everyone's safe.”

The Batum absence just adds on to what's been a tough year for the Clippers already. They've had multiple starters and key rotation players dealing with injuries to start the year all while Kawhi Leonard rehabs his knee following offseason ACL surgery.

Only a month into the new season, it almost feels like it's just one hit after another for Ty Lue's club.

“Yeah, it has been, but a lot of teams are going through it. It's not just us. We gotta continue to weather the storm. I think our guys are doing a great job defensively of just competing every single night, playing hard. Offensively, I thought we were a lot better tonight, we didn't make a lot of shots that we normally make, but I thought we made a conscious effort at playing the right way and win or lose this game, if we're playing the right way, then I feel good about it. We played the right way tonight, the ball is moving, the ball is hopping, made the right play, the right pass, and then down the stretch, Reggie and PG was able to bring us home.”

The Clippers and Mavs game will tipoff at 7:30PM PST, barring any last minutes changes.