Derrick Jones Jr. missed several weeks with a knee injury
Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. will be out for a while due to a lower-body injury, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
Via Charania: “Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 right MCL sprain and will be re-evaluated in 6 weeks, sources tell ESPN. Jones returned last week after missing more than a month with the same freak injury to the same knee against the same opponent, Boston.”
Jones, 28, was injured in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
Before leaving the contest, the former UNLV basketball star had 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field with four rebounds, two assists and a block in 25 minutes of action. in a 146-115 loss to Jaylen Brown and company.
This is another tough break for Jones, who just returned to action after missing a few games due to the same injury. The Celtics game was only his fourth game back, and he has played well since his return. Over his last four outings, Jones is averaging 10.0 points on 64.0 percent shooting, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 blocks. Los Angeles won three of those four games.
So far in the 2025-26 NBA season, Jones is averaging 10.4 points on 55.6 percent shooting, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest.
For the Clippers, losing Jones affects not only their depth but their play as well, as big things obviously happened for Los Angeles whenever he was on the court. He had a 130.1 offensive rating over the last four games.
Kawhi Leonard expects an increase in work with Jones, and the same can be said for Kobe Sanders, John Collins and even Nicolas Batum.
The Clippers, who are 12-22, are scheduled to play the Golden State Warriors this Monday at home.
2026-01-05 01:01:00
