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The Los Angeles Clippers have been playing above everybody's expectations to begin the 2024-25 season. On Tuesday night, they took a dominant 127-105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Cup to move to 14-9 on the season — a far better record than most analysts expected out of them especially with Kawhi Leonard still nursing an injury. The Clippers have prided themselves on defense — although they took a hit on that end of the floor on Tuesday night with the unfortunate news regarding Terance Mann.
Mann, who played 13 minutes off the Clippers bench on Tuesday night, was diagnosed with a fractured middle finger on his left hand, as per ClutchPoints Clippers beat reporter Tomer Azarly. It is unclear, however, how much time Mann is set to miss, as he will still be re-evaluated by the team's medical staff today.
The 28-year-old wing began the season as a starter for the Clippers but has since been moved by Ty Lue to the bench for the past 12 games. Mann has overall been better since being relegated to a bench role — with LA functioning much better as a team with Kris Dunn starting in Mann's place.
At the very least, the Clippers have plenty of players on the wings who are capable of stepping up with the heavier workload they'll about to get with Mann being out for at least a few games. Jordan Miller has been earning the trust of the coaching staff, while Amir Coffey has been very consistent with his shooting stroke thus far this season.
Terance Mann's stock is falling despite Clippers' solid season
It's a huge testament to how well the Clippers' three best healthy players (James Harden, Norman Powell, and Ivica Zubac) have been playing that they've been able to weather the Kawhi Leonard injury storm quite well. They have boasted a top-five defense while doing just enough on offense, with Harden being a reliable a scoring and playmaking source as ever and Powell backing up his “addition by subtraction” take on Paul George's departure.
Mann was expected to be among those who were going to step up with George gone and Leonard still injured. But Mann doesn't quite do enough on offense, as he's very passive and prefers to shoot only when he's very open. Moreover, his off the bounce game is limited. The Clippers opted to start Kris Dunn instead since Dunn can handle the rock at a better level while also being a better defender on the perimeter.
