Brook Lopez initially joined the Clippers to back up veteran center Ivica Zubac. However, a subscriber-exclusive report from Janis Carr of The Orange County Register suggests he is now poised to become the team’s starting center for the remainder of the season. Lopez had previously stepped into a starting role for a few games in December when Zubac suffered an ankle injury, but he also saw periods out of the main rotation, with rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser often being the first big man off the bench. The dynamic shifted entirely after Zubac’s trade to Indiana at the deadline, placing a significant reliance on Lopez as Los Angeles aims for a playoff berth.
“It’s just been about staying ready for me,” Lopez stated. “Obviously, my goal is to help my team win by whatever means possible, so on a nightly basis, whatever’s required of me, I’m going to go out there and do it.”
At 37 years old, Lopez has been a career-long starter prior to his arrival with the Clippers last summer, indicating his readiness for an extensive workload. In their recent loss to the Lakers on Friday, he contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the focal point of the offense after Kawhi Leonard exited due to left ankle stiffness and Bennedict Mathurin committed his sixth foul.
“I’m comfortable in a lot of different roles,” Lopez shared. “It’s something I got to do for a good decade in my career, so I’m confident doing that. Again, whatever’s required of me.”
Additional Clippers news:
- Kawhi Leonard, currently listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against Orlando, received significant praise from long-time competitor LeBron James following their recent matchup, Carr also notes. James remarked that despite Leonard’s extensive history with injuries, he remains among the NBA’s elite players. “There’s things you can’t control. You only can control the controllables and the things that he’s been controlling is how he comes back and how (much) perseverance he (has) every single time,” James commented. “That guy’s awesome. I swear, I have nothing but great things to say about Kawhi and the type of basketball he’s been playing over the last couple months. I mean, he is who he is for a reason, so I’m not surprised by it.”
- John Collins is slated to miss Sunday’s game after sustaining a head laceration and neck soreness during the contest against the Lakers, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Murray highlighted that the injury report does not indicate a concussion.
- Darius Garland revealed to Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he anticipated a trade from Cleveland was inevitable, attributing it to a recurring toe issue that limited his participation to just 26 games this season. “It was going to happen regardless, either at the (trade) deadline or this summer. (My agent) Rich (Paul) had that conversation with me last summer,” Garland explained. “But yeah, the toe definitely had a factor in it. They didn’t know if I was going to be healthy for this season, which I will be. But they thought that James (Harden) had something that I didn’t, I believe. He has experience in playoffs and All-Star numbers still to this day, even though he wasn’t an All-Star this year. But yeah, they want to win right now. They have a group, too. And I guess I really wasn’t part of the plan.”