Clippers Injury Report vs. Timberwolves: LA Has Frontcourt Concerns vs. Healthy Minnesota

The Los Angeles Clippers have a chance to go over .500 for the first time since October on Wednesday night. A win against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Intuit Dome will push the Clippers closer to their postseason goals. Minnesota, on the other hand, is trying to stop its skid after losing back-to-back games by double digits. Anthony Edwards & Co. will be on the second night of a back-to-back after Tuesday's 120-106 loss to the Lakers, giving the Clippers a rest advantage.

Unfortunately, however, the Clippers are dealing with injuries in the frontcourt. Standout rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser has already been ruled out for the season with a Lisfranc injury. Starting power forward John Collins is also listed as out on the injury report as he is dealing with a neck strain.

John Collins Out vs. Timberwolves on Wednesday

This puts the Clippers at a major disadvantage against a solid team with excellent size. Collins is the only traditional power forward on the team. Without him, the Clippers have to rely heavily on Derrick Jones Jr. or Kawhi Leonard guarding the opposing power forwards. Nicolas Batum also sees minutes at the four, but he can only play limited minutes off the bench at this stage of his career.

Moreover, Brook Lopez is the only center on the roster that Ty Lue fully trusts. Trade deadline acquisition Isaiah Jackson has been seeing playing time after Niederhauser went down, but he is an undersized center who doesn't excel in doing things traditional bigs are expected to.

Going up against the Rudy Gobert-Julius Randle-Naz Reid three-headed monster will be a challenge for the Clippers. Randle can overpower most perimeter defenders one-on-one and is faster than Lopez, creating matchup problems. Gobert is a beast on the boards and is an elite rim protector who can swing games with his defense. Reid can stretch the floor with his shooting, providing elite spacing for Minnesota's shot creators.

Even though they played last night, the Timberwolves are almost entirely healthy. Only Ayo Dosunmu is listed as questionable on the injury report with a thumb sprain. He suited up against the Lakers, so he has a good chance of suiting up, bringing Minnesota to full strength. Since the game against the Lakers wasn't particularly close, no Timberwolves player played over 31 minutes. And there was no travel between games, either, making this a potentially easier second night of a back-to-back than most for Minnesota. Whether that will be enough to take down the surging Clippers, however, remains to be seen.