Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley will miss the rest of the season after surgery to repair a microfracture and meniscus injury to his right knee.
Beverley underwent arthroscopic surgery and had a microfracture procedure performed on his right knee on Wednesday by Dr. Walt Lowe in Houston, the team announced. The severity of the injury was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reported Beverley’s rehab is expected to take nine months.
This is another injury blow to a flailing Clippers team that has now lost nine games in a row after starting 4-0. Beverley was a key part of the Chris Paul trade over the summer, a tenacious defensive guard who could serve as a strong complementary playmaker, too.
Beverley was the team’s starting point guard on opening night, but Los Angeles has also been without 30-year-old rookie Milos Teodosic, who has only played two games due to plantar fasciitis and whose return isn’t expected soon, per Wojnarowski.
Making the playoffs is much more difficult now
Beverley isn’t a star, but he is a perfect role player. Los Angeles started the season with stout defensive efforts, but it eroded quickly — since the 4-0 start, the Clippers have had the worst defense in the league. With Blake Griffin and especially DeAndre Jordan, that’s simply unacceptable.
Los Angeles is making due with Austin Rivers, Lou Williams, and rookie Sindarius Thornwell, but all three are being asked to do more than they should be. Teodosic will eventually return, but he certainly won’t help the defense, which is Los Angeles’ biggest problem right now.
The Clippers have also been without Danilo Gallinari, who has been dealing with a glute injury. Unfortunately, Gallinari is an injury-prone player, and Los Angeles had to expect him to miss time.
Doc Rivers has coached amazing defenses before, but that was greatly helped by a combination of personnel and his then-assistant Tom Thibodeau. The New York Times’ Marc Stein said on Tuesday that Rivers’ job as head coach may soon be put in the spotlight in Los Angeles after its struggles. For Los Angeles to recover, he needs to shore up the team’s defensive efforts — even with makeshift parts — and hope the rash of injuries stops here.
This sucks for Beverley
After spending time in James Harden’s shadow in Houston — where he was a perfect complement — Beverley finally had a chance to really help run an offense himself. Now Beverley is expected to be rehabbing a serious knee injury until the very start of next season while on the verge of turning 30.
It took Beverley several years to initially break into the NBA after exceeding expectations in Europe. Now, his biggest role yet is cut short after only 11 games. One minor reprieve is that this isn’t a contract year — he has one year left on his deal after this one.