The LA Clippers’ frontcourt was already down Yanic Konan Niederhauser; they simply could not afford another injury, as the depth was limited to Brook Lopez and Isaiah Jackson, which one would describe as insufficient. However, against the Indiana Pacers, Jackson suffered an ankle sprain, forcing Tyronn Lue to begin using a flawed small-ball lineup with significant size weaknesses that is out of LA's comfort zone.
This is the play where Isaiah Jackson hurt his ankle. 👇
— Grant "Money" Mona (@Gmona48) April 1, 2026
The ankle rolls outwards, not inwards in typical cases.
That usually is a high ankle sprain (not confirmed) which takes longer to heal.
In any case, the Clippers have desperately missed his presence. https://t.co/UykcvpU5K9 pic.twitter.com/adO8gTUHLm
It’s not like Lue can throw Lopez into action for a consistent 30-40 minutes and expect success to transpire. The big man might not be against it, as he’s a winning player, but at the end of the day, someone at his age(37) has no business taking on such a heavy load, regardless of the circumstances.
Therefore, Lue will have to make do with John Collins and Nicolas Batum until Jackson is cleared following a re-evaluation.
Size is the biggest reason why the Clippers’ small-ball lineup has been a last resort
Had the LA Clippers had a group that could crash the glass and succeed at a high rate, particularly at the four spot, going small would not be a problem. In fact, it’s something the fans may look forward to seeing, as the spacing, pace, and flow might yield stronger metrics.
Unfortunately, the Clippers are not in a position with that type of luxury. The only two veterans who are remotely capable of handling the duties of Brook Lopez while he sits are Nicolas Batum and John Collins.
Collins, who averages 5.2 rebounds at 6 '9”, and Batum, who averages 2.6 at 6' 7”, are clearly at a size disadvantage when battling in the paint, and it shows in the numbers.
They both lack just a few extra inches in height and wingspan, which sets the Clippers up for failure.
The worst part is, Batum has been unplayable this season, and now he is someone the Clippers need. He is slower-moving due to his body that is steadily declining, doesn't contribute much offensively aside from three-point shooting, and provides a noticeably inferior impact on the game than he once did.
The aftermath of going smaller has already been seen: against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Clippers gave up a game-changing 18 offensive rebounds.
This is essentially the outlet Portland took advantage of to win the game.
That said, there is no other real solution besides Collins and Batum presenting more effort. Jackson was a stud on the glass, so these two have a lot of ground to cover.