Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. will be out for a while due to a lower-body injury, ClutchPoints' Tomer Azarly reported via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
Via Azarly: “Derrick Jones Jr. was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain of the MCL in his right knee. Jones Jr. has avoided the worst case scenario again and will be re-evaluated in 6 weeks.”
The news was first reported by ESPN.
The 28-year-old Jones suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Clippers blowout loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics at Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
Before he left the contest, the former UNLV basketball star had 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field with four rebounds, two assists and a block in 25 minutes of action in a 146-115 loss to Jaylen Brown and company.
This is another tough break for Jones, who had just returned to action after missing several games due to the same injury. The Celtics game was only his fourth game back, and he had been playing well since his return. Over his last four outings, Jones averaged 10.0 points on a 64.0 percent shooting from the field, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 blocks. Los Angeles won three of those four games.
So far in the 2025-26 NBA season, Jones is averaging 10.4 points on a 55.6 percent shooting, 2.6 boards and 1.2 assists per contest.
For the Clippers, losing Jones affects not just their depth but their play, as great things were clearly happening for Los Angeles whenever he was on the court. He had a 130.1 offensive rating in the last four games.
Kawhi Leonard stands to see an increased workload with Jones out, and the same can be said about the likes of Kobe Sanders, John Collins and even Nicolas Batum.
The Clippers, who are 12-22, are scheduled to play the Golden State Warriors this Monday at home.
