We’re just two games into the new season and the injury bug has already struck the LA Clippers, as rookie guard Milos Teodosic suffered a foot injury in the team’s win over the Phoenix Suns.
Sunday evening, the LA Clippers announced that Milos Teodosic suffered a plantar fascia injury in the team’s win against the Phoenix Suns and ruled the point guard out indefinitely.
Clippers guard Milos Teodosic suffered a plantar fascia injury in left foot and will be out indefinitely, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 22, 2017
Teodosic suffered the injury in the closing minutes of the first half after appearing to step on Devin Booker’s foot while trying to track down an offensive rebound. The Clippers rookie went down holding his foot immediately and had to be carried back to the locker room by Willie Reed and one of the athletic trainers.
Once they carried Teodosic to the bench, he was able to limp back to the locker room on his own. He underwent x-rays, which came back negative for any breaks. Teodosic left the game in a walking boot with an MRI scheduled for the following morning to get a deeper dive of his foot injury.
The plantar fascia is the ligament that connects your heel bone to your toes and provides the bottom of your foot with arch support. NBA players and other athletes are often diagnosed with the condition plantar fasciitis, where the plantar fascia tendon is strained and causes the foot to be weakened, swollen, and irritated. Usually, plantar fasciitis is a gradual condition that develops over time and after a great amount of physical demand, but Teodosic stepping on Booker’s foot could have strained the ligament and sped up the process (this is an educated guess, I am in no way shape or form an athletic trainer, let’s just hope Milos didn’t tear the ligament).
Teodosic’s injury puts the Clippers in a tough spot in regards to their backcourt and will likely move Austin Rivers back to the starting line up for the foreseeable future. This leaves Lou Williams, rookie Sindarius Thornwell (who I guess is more of a guard than a wing), and fellow rookie Jawun Evans, who was activated after Teodosic’s diagnosis, as the only guards on the Clippers’ bench. The team will have to give the trio of Patrick Beverley, Rivers, and Williams heavy minutes until a resolution is found.
Beverley talked to the media after the game about how Teodosic’s injury will affect the team moving forward.
“As a guard, you can’t get in foul trouble now. Our team was made up of two-guards in the rotation. It’s unfortunate for my brother. We don’t know how long it might be, but we’ve just got to keep him in prayers and the next man up. So the rookies Jawun, Sindarius, they have to be ready. It’s a good opportunity for them.”
The Clippers do still have one roster spot open and could maybe look to add a veteran point guard to the team if Teodosic is expected to miss an extended amount of time. Until then, the team will roll with the trio of veteran guards and hope that the two rookies can help fill the void until Teodosic returns.