Clippers Get Crushing Injury Updates for Opening Night vs. Kings

The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night to close out the preseason, but the injury news from before tipoff got most of the attention.

Forward Brandon Ingram and center Yanic Konan Niederhauser have started on-court work, though neither will be ready when the Sacramento Kings come to Intuit Dome for the season opener on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Guard Bradley Beal and guard Max Strus will also miss opening night, so head coach Tyronn Lue will be without four players he expected to use in his rotation.

Ingram hurt his right heel in Toronto's playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and doctors found a partially torn Achilles when he had heel surgery in May.

ESPN's Anthony Slater reported that the team knew about the Achilles before the trade, and the plan is to reevaluate Ingram once the season begins.

Niederhauser is still working back from foot surgery in March, and the Clippers had already ruled him out for the start of the year last week.

As for Beal, his knee flared up with inflammation as he worked back from last season's hip injury, and Lue said there is no timetable because the staff wants him to feel good before he plays.

Strus went down less than five minutes into the preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors with a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot.

When the team announced the injury on Oct. 5, it said he would be out at least four weeks, so his next check-in should come around the seventh game of the regular season.

There is better news on guard Kobe Sanders, who sat out Wednesday with a left hip injury, since the Clippers are optimistic he will be available against Sacramento, according to a beat report on Wednesday.

Lue does not plan to rush anyone, and when he talked about Strus in comments shared with reporters, he said, "It's tough, but like I told him, we're going to wait for him. We're going to hold the fort down until we get our guys back. It's unfortunate what happened but it's part of the game."

I think he has it right, even if the first few weeks get ugly, because Ingram and Beal are both coming off serious injuries and this team needs them healthy all year more than for a few games in October.

The opener against the Kings starts a stretch of three games in five days that includes a visit to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Oct. 23, and a trip to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, Oct. 25.

I expect guard Darius Garland and forward Rui Hachimura to carry the scoring load, and I would guess Lue sticks with a short rotation until help arrives.

Sanders would give Lue one more healthy guard on a thin roster, so his status is the first thing I will check before the opener.

If the Clippers can stay close to .500 until the injured players start coming back in November, I think they will be in good shape once Ingram, Beal and Strus are back on the floor.