The Los Angeles Clippers started the season whole, but that didn't last long. Bradley Beal missed Sunday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, and he'll continue to be sidelined when the Clippers take on the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
The Clippers released their injury report on Monday evening, with listed Bradley Beal as “OUT” for Tuesday night's contest against Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and the Warriors. Beal was previously listed as “QUESTIONABLE” to play on Sunday night against the Warriors before being ruled out prior to the game, head coach Tyronn Lue announced.
This time, Beal is being ruled out a whole day in advance, which indicates that Beal simply isn't close to a return for Tuesday night's game or that the team wants to leave him home to recover while the Clippers finish their one-game trip with two days off after.
In two appearances, Bradley Beal has averaged just 5.5 points, 1.0 rebound, and 1.0 assist in 20 minutes per game. The Clippers guard is still rounding into form following offseason knee surgery in May that forced him to be a limited participant throughout the early portions of training camp.
Tyronn Lue says that Beal suffered the injury on a defensive play during the Clippers' home opening win against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
“He took that charge and it kind of gave him some back spasms,” Lue said.
In his 14-year, 803 game NBA career, Beal has averaged 21.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 46.4 percent shooting from the field and 37.6 percent from three. The Clippers are slowly incorporating Beal into what they want to do, and the hope is that Beal can rediscover a spark that he appeared to lose a bit during a couple of losing seasons with the Phoenix Suns.
Beal's next opportunity to play will be Friday, when the Clippers return home for a Halloween showdown against the New Orleans Pelicans.
