LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers will be shorthanded for the next month with both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George shelved. On the bright side, it appears they'll be getting Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson back in the lineup very shortly.
On Sunday, the Clippers announced that Morris tested out of the NBA's health and safety protocols and was cleared to return to team activities. Morris warmed up ahead of Sunday night's contest, but would not play due to “return to competition conditioning,” per the team.
Marcus Morris has exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols and is warming up for the Clippers.
He is OUT tonight, listed with ‘return to competition conditioning.’ pic.twitter.com/rSbdbnbCOm
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 27, 2021
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Morris missed the last four games for the Clippers after testing positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 17. Morris looked noticeably spry pregame, but head coach Tyronn Lue will likely play it smart as the forward returns to 100 percent.
“I know we hear the next-man-up mentality, but that’s how we got to be,” Lue said pregame of Paul George's absence. “We’ve done it for periods of time and now it’s going to be a little longer than we expected with both Kawhi and PG, but Reggie will be back soon and Marcus will be back soon.
“Gotta take it one game at a time. We lost PG for two weeks like you said, but then we had Reggie and we had Marcus for a little bit of that stretch as well. With those two guys being out you lose your top four scorers with Kawhi, PG, Marcus, and Reggie, but like I said our young guys have to come in and play well, play hard and compete. They’re going to make some mistakes and we’re going to have to stay patient in that regard, but like I said I still feel confident that we got a lot in this locker room and we can still get it done. No one’s going to feel sorry for us, everyone’s going through the same thing right now, and so our biggest thing is just continuing to build habits and try to win games as best as possible.
After playing the first 31 games of the year for the Clippers, Reggie Jackson has missed the last two games due to health and safety protocols. Ty Lue relays that Jackson feels good and isn't exhibiting any symptoms.
“Reggie he said he feels good, no symptoms. We can get Marcus back soon, so that’s great, and Isaiah we don’t have a timetable yet on him. We’re going to hold it down until they get back, and like I said I think we’ll be fine.”
Marcus Morris was on a tear in his last seven appearances, averaging 18.4 points and 5.9 rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field and 46.3 percent from 3.
For the season, Reggie Jackson is averaging 17.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Jackson has struggled with his shot a bit after his hot run last season, shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from 3-point land.
The Clippers dropped to 17-16 with a tough loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, but they're still holding the fifth spot in the Western Conference as a number of other teams around them struggle to rack up wins. Next up for LA is a big game against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. The Nets just got James Harden back in the lineup, but it remains to be seen if Kevin Durant will return from protocols.
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