LA Clippers' Patrick Beverley recovering from hand surgery; will be reevaluated in 3-4 weeks
TheLA Clippers' injury issues continue, as starting point guard Patrick Beverley underwent surgery Friday to repair a fractured fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand.
The Clippers announced that Beverley had surgery on Friday morning and that there is "no immediate timetable" for his return. He will be reevaluated in three to four weeks to allow the injury to heal.
"It is just tough," Clippers coach Ty Lue said. "Because Pat is such a hard worker and did all the right things to come back to play and get back to action. For this to happen in his second game back is tough to see. We are going to hold the fort down until he comes back ... he is a warrior and he will be back as soon as he can."
Beverley suffered the injury while pursuing a rebound in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's 113-103 win over the Phoenix Suns. He was later ejected from the game with 7 minutes, 1 second remaining for an excessive and unnecessarily hard foul on Chris Paul.
Beverley was playing in his second game after returning from a 12-game layoff due to a knee injury. He had missed eight games earlier in the season because of a knee issue as well.
For the second straight season, the Clippers are dealing with injuries that have disrupted the team's ability to form chemistry with the same unit.
Starting center Serge Ibaka sat out his 14th consecutive game with a back issue Friday night as the Clippers hosted the Houston Rockets. All-Star guard Paul George (rest) also sat out Friday, and has been dealing with a toe issue. And recently acquired point guard Rajon Rondo did not play Friday, with the team being cautious after he recently returned from an adductor injury.
The Clippers beat the Rockets 126-109 to move to 36-18. They are 21-10 this season with Beverley in the lineup and 15-8 without him. They are 107-53 over the past three seasons with him in the lineup and just 26-22 without him, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
