Clippers Injury Report vs. Knicks: Will Darius Garland & John Collins Play?

The Los Angeles Clippers began a brutal 18-game March schedule on the right foot, winning four of their first five games. Now with a five-game home stretch over the next week, the Clippers have a chance to go over .500 for the first time since October. The New York Knicks, who have been playing much better as of late, stand in their way as the Clippers hope to improve to 32-32 for the season.

The Knicks will be without Mitchell Robinson, who has been on a load management schedule, not playing both legs of a back-to-back. Since the Knicks are coming off a loss against the Lakers on Sunday, New York has chosen to rest their backup center for Monday's clash at the Intuit Dome. Joining Robinson on the sidelines is Miles McBride, who recently underwent sports hernia surgery. Other than McBride and Robinson, the Knicks will be fully healthy against the Clippers.

John Collins Out vs. Knicks on Monday

LA, on the other hand, will be without John Collins for the fifth straight game. The starting power forward had suffered a neck injury on February 20 against the Lakers, missed two games, returned to action against the Pelicans, only to reaggravate it and miss the next four games.

Yanic Konan Niederhauser has already been ruled out for the season after suffering a Lisfranc injury. The Clippers will be short-handed in the frontcourt without Collins and Niederhauser. Brook Lopez will continue to start at center, while Isaiah Jackson will get significant minutes off the bench as his backup. Nicolas Batum will also get an extended run.

More importantly for the Clippers, however, Darius Garland was not on the injury report. The dynamic point guard got his first start as a Clipper on Saturday against the Grizzlies and played 26 minutes. He looked as shifty as ever, and Clippers fans are desperately hoping that he will slowly get back to his former All-Star self. Garland is not back to 100% yet and will likely sit out one end of back-to-backs going forward, but he is on the right track.

The Knicks have not beaten the Clippers in LA since 2022, but defeated them in the first matchup of the season at Madison Square Garden. Without James Harden and Ivica Zubac, however, this is a different Clippers team, and they are highly motivated to make a run in the final stretch of the season to make the playoffs.