Clippers Get Disappointing Bennedict Mathurin Injury Update on Monday

When the Los Angeles Clippers announced that Bennedict Mathurin would miss all three games on their road trip due to a toe injury, many thought it was a precaution and that the dynamic scorer would be back on the court when the Clippers returned to LA. Before Saturday's game against the Mavericks, head coach Ty Lue had said that Mathurin was "getting better. He got on the court yesterday and shot, and he shot again this morning," per reporter Grant Afseth (via Grant Mona on X). This gave Clippers fans some hope that Mathurin's return was imminent.

Clippers' Bennedict Mathurin to Miss 4th Straight Game on Monday

That is why it was disappointing to see Mathurin continuing to be listed as out on the injury report on Monday. The 23-year-old shooting guard has already been ruled out for the 10:30 pm EST game against the Bucks. The fact that the former Pacer wasn't upgraded to doubtful or questionable, and was ruled out a day in advance, is certainly not a good sign. His next chance to suit up will be on Wednesday against the Raptors, and he should be considered questionable at best for that matchup.

With only 11 games left in the regular season, this is not what Clippers fans wanted to hear. LA is only half a game ahead of the No. 9 seed Portland Trail Blazers, who have the easiest remaining schedule in the league by a wide margin, per Tankathon.com. To make matters worse for the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard is dealing with an ankle sprain and continues to be listed as questionable on the injury report. He missed two games last week and may end up missing more over the next few weeks. Darius Garland has yet to be cleared to play on both nights of back-to-backs as he is recovering from a toe injury. This could make the Clippers severely short-handed in certain matchups down the stretch.

Mathurin has an outsized importance for this team, which lacks shot creation outside of Leonard and Garland. Even if one of those two stars is hobbled, the Clippers need Mathurin to step up and take some of the offensive burden. When he is not available, either, the Clippers become a significantly easier team to guard with a lower ceiling.

Let's hope that Mathurin hasn't suffered any setbacks since Lue's remarks. This should put him on track to return vs. the Raptors on Wednesday, but Clippers fans will be holding their breath until they see the injury report for that game.