Clippers Injury Report on Jan. 5: LA at a Major Disadvantage vs. Warriors

The Los Angeles Clippers are short-handed ahead of Monday's clash against the Golden State Warriors.

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers came back down to earth over the weekend after their six-game win streak ended at the hands of the Boston Celtics. Sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference at 12-22, the Clippers have a long way to go before they can start dreaming about the postseason. To do that, they need to beat teams against whom they are fighting for a playoff spot, especially at Intuit Dome.

Monday's game against the Golden State Warriors is one of those. The 19-17 Warriors have been playing better of late, winning six of their last eight games. More importantly, they have a major health advantage over the Clippers. The Warriors have no rotation players listed on their latest official injury report, while the Clippers are dealing with a long list of injuries.

Beal, Bogdanovic, Jones Jr., and Chris Paul Out vs. Warriors on Monday

The Clippers will be without Bradley Beal, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Derrick Jones Jr., who are all dealing with various injuries. Chris Paul is not with the team, and rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser is dealing with an illness and is questionable for the game.

Jones suffered a knee sprain on Saturday that will keep him sidelined for the next six weeks. Beal is out for the season after undergoing hip surgery. Bogdanovic has no timetable to return as he recovers from a hamstring ailment.

This leaves the Clippers severely short-handed. Without the four veterans, the Clippers are down to 10 healthy players on standard contracts. Niederhauser is not that crucial for Ty Lue after the return of Ivica Zubac, but if he misses time, the Clippers will have only nine players they can rely on in the rotation.

That is why the Clippers will continue to rely on their players on two-way contracts. Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders will likely see some action against the Warriors, since Lue doesn't seem to trust Kobe Brown and Cam Christie much in the rotation.

More importantly, however, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden will once again have a massive workload. Leonard is playing nearly 40 minutes night in and night out over the last few weeks, and Harden is averaging 35 minutes per game while carrying a big offensive burden all season. The lack of depth for the Clippers will force both stars to try to play as many minutes as they can handle.

This is not an ideal situation to be in for the Clippers, as they risk running two aging stars into the ground before the halfway mark of the season. With their season slipping out of their hands, however, the Clippers have no other choice.