Ivica Zubac will be out for at least three weeks for the Clippers after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 ankle sprain in his left ankle, reports NBA on Prime’s Chris Haynes (via Twitter).
Zubac left Saturday’s game against the Lakers after playing just 10:47 due to the injury. He is averaging 15.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists this season after having a breakout year for the Clippers last year, which saw him named to the All-Defense Second Team.
The win against the Lakers broke the Clippers’ five-game losing streak and earned them their seventh win on the season, as they’ve struggled to find success on either end of the floor. They come into Sunday ranked 24th in offensive rating and 26th in defensive rating and own the fifth-worst record in the league.
The loss of Zubac will be a hard blow to overcome for the team, as backup center Brook Lopez, who signed with the team this offseason, has struggled to make an outsized impact. However, Lopez stepped up on Satuday, scoring 11 points and adding two blocks in a season-high 24:52.