The Los Angeles Clippers are hunting for a championship after acquiring James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers. However, they lost a chunk of their depth by adding Harden and will now be without backup center Mason Plumlee after he suffered a knee injury on Monday night against the New York Knicks.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Plumlee suffered a left knee MCL sprain and is returning to Los Angeles this week to undergo further evaluation. The Clippers will not return home until after their game on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks, which is why Plumlee is heading back to L.A. early.
As a result, the veteran center will miss at least the team's next two games in Brooklyn on Wednesday and Dallas on Friday.
The injury occurred on Monday night when Knicks All-Star Julius Randle dove on the ground for a loose ball and ended up diving straight into Plumlee's left knee. The Clippers' big man immediately went down to the ground in pain and was subsequently helped to the locker room.
Mason Plumlee goes down after Julius Randle dives for the ball and goes into his left knee.
Very reckless/dangerous play here. pic.twitter.com/Esj0DwYkrl
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 7, 2023
So far this season, Plumlee has played in all six games for the Clippers, averaging 5.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in about 17.0 minutes per game off the bench.
Los Angeles acquired Plumlee at the trade deadline last season from the Charlotte Hornets and he has provided the Clippers with a sense of balance and stability in their frontcourt behind starting center Ivica Zubac. Just this past summer, the Clippers re-signed Plumlee to a one-year, $5 million contract.
With Plumlee set to miss an extended period of time as a result of this new knee injury, the Clippers will need to lean on newly acquired P.J. Tucker for added production in the frontcourt behind Zubac. It's also possible that Los Angeles will look to sign another big man to a minimum contract, as they currently have an open roster spot that will need to be filled sooner than later due to the league's rules prohibiting a team from having less than 14 players on their roster for more than two weeks.
Further details on Mason Plumlee's status and knee injury timeframe will be provided by the Clippers after the veteran undergoes further testing in Los Angeles.
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