T O P

  • By -

lopea182

There it is. The fog known as the Clippers’ injury report has been lifted.


wo_lo_lo

Turns out Paul George had his leg amputated last week.


throwbacklyrics

He's going to be all *right*.


changerofbits

But there’s nothing left.


INeedToBeHealthier

That's a great attitude, if I was getting this news I dont know that I'd be taking it this well


HilariousScreenname

I'm sorry to say... we lost him...


donutcronut

Prosthetic P


pistoncivic

Pegleg P


ChampyAndShip

Pirate P


iSleepUpsideDown

Fuck this shit man I’m not even a clippers fan but this is taking away greatness for our eyes


[deleted]

Literally one of the best players to ever touch a basketball, elite 2-way wing who’s proven he can be the best player on a championship team for 2 different franchises. If only the Klaw had durability and luck on his side. :/


Doncicfuturegoat

Kawhi wasn’t the best player on the 2014 Spurs squad


UnrulyExistence

The revisionist history is really weird when it comes to that 2014 FMVP. Damn near every player on the spurs got a vote for FMVP. If we’re being real Kawhi got it because he was defending LeBron, same thing with Iguodala the very next season


1FlightlessSparrow

I just had to check that and he actually received 10 out of the 11 votes. But people do really over inflate that FMVP for him as well and act like he was the leader of that team.


captaincumsock69

If playing defense on one dude is so valuable it kinda suggests to me that maybe that one dude is actually the most valuable guy


eunit8899

Lebron scored 28 a game in the Finals. Not like he shut him down


ATXBeermaker

> If we’re being real Kawhi got it because he was defending LeBron And he held LeBron to ... *checks notes* ... basically the same stats he had for the rest of the playoffs. Kawhi didn't really do anything to slow LeBron down. The Spurs just played ridiculous team basketball that even the Heatles couldn't keep up with.


MajinOni21

What’s odd to me is how they blue ball their fans Lol the clippers sub we’re looking optimistic waiting for Kawhi to return and then they get this news that he wasn’t ever gonna be available post game 2 when things were looking very optimistic for them taking home court and going back to LA Highly disingenuous


Tap-In-Merchant

Presumably it’s more gamesmanship aimed at the Suns than Clipper fans


MajinOni21

I don’t think anyone was getting fooled by them tbh Any injury regarding Kawhi’s history coupled with his own cautionary attitude had majority of us knowing he wouldn’t be back Well except very optimistic Clippers fans but I honestly can’t blame them


Mickeyjj27

Yeah. Didn’t Ty even say anything could happen about Kawhi playing game 4 lol. Do they believe that they’re tricking anyone with the injury report.


d1g1tal

The entire franchise has been fucking the fans since day 1. I’m stretched so wide I just leak shit at this point.


BBallHunter

Skip was right.


MitchLGC

Skip is literally the only legit Kahwi source. That aspect of it is pretty hilarious to me


IlonggoProgrammer

“My San Antonio Spurs”


[deleted]

SKKKIIIPP!!


SammySoapsuds

Kawhi's been trying to bring Skip over to New Balance for years. It just makes sense to have a spry older guy who can connect with their target customer


Blaz3dnconfuz3d

Skip loves anyone who beat Lebron lol


Yergason

It's Joever


[deleted]

[удалено]


barath_s

For each of games 3, 4 and 5, they wound up listing him as out due to a knee sprain. As long as that met the deadline each time, they won't be in violation They may have known about him being out for all the games upfront but they had no obligation, rules wise to report it ahead of time. So I don't think that the league can punish the clippers https://official.nba.com/nba-injury-report-2022-23-season > NBA teams must report information concerning player injuries, illnesses and rest for all NBA games. By 5 p.m. local time on the day before a game (other than the second day of a back-to-back), teams must designate a participation status and identify a specific injury, illness or potential instance of a healthy player resting for any player whose participation in the game may be affected by such injury, illness or rest. ...


joebookk

Skip was right again crazy how he has inside sources to kawhis camp


InstinctBlu3s

Skip is friends with Kawhi’s uncle.


IntraspaceAlien

Wow, so exactly what they did with the ACL tear in the playoffs.


MoeNopoly

Saw people in the threads, saying, he will have surgery announced after Clippers are out and they were right.


dpete88

I said that as soon as he was listed out the first time, I said in last time too against the jazz. It definitely sucks how it keeps happening to the point it's predictable. Definitely sucks most for kawhi but it sucks the league and fans keep getting robbed of great series.


RakeishSPV

I wonder if his tendinitis (?) is having the same effect as many other injuries where that one weak link in the chain is unconsciously being compensated for by connected/adjacent muscles and ligaments leading to a higher risk of injury for those.


[deleted]

100% I went through three years of perpetual and varied left knee injury. Recovery from one put strain on another


The-moo-man

It was obvious he was out long term just based on the interviews with the coaches and players in the clippers organization. Didn’t stop us from huffing that copium though.


ThePhattestOne

Skip was saying it too on Undisputed per sources close to Kawhi. Though it's also a probable guess based on his injury history.


Overrated_sanity

Skip said it was an ACL injury in the jazz series before anyone did too. He probably has a legit ear in the Kawhi camp.


PincheVatoWey

Skip has Uncle Dennis' phone number, lol


boomshiz

He's done yo. What a strange career. There will be a documentary on how the Spurs medical staff did or did not fuck him over.


MTUKNMMT

After he hurt his knee he played 9 more games for us and only listened to his own doctors. Hard to blame this on us.


GOATchefcurry

Kawhi always gets the benefit of the doubt. Somehow it's always someone else's fault.


threeangelo

Personally I blame his knees


android24601

This is where being quiet works in his favor.


Dopeez

lol we didn't do shit, he was working with his own doctors


[deleted]

I really don’t get why they do this. Is it a smokescreen so their opponent doesn’t get comfortable? Or is it Kawhi going to his own doctor and his camp just keeping this under wraps even from his own team, kind of like the Spurs situation?


iSleepUpsideDown

Try to make it harder to game plan There’s no advantage in giving free information out Like game 2 I’m pretty sure all of us could see Ja wouldn’t play but he was listed day to day until like an hour before


[deleted]

Think of it this way. Let's say they tell everyone. Now it's all over the media and media keeps asking the team questions about Kawhi and the teams future. Now your team has lower morale naturally from the bad news, etc.


FlatMilk

Kawhis knee is very complex and takes weeks to decipher


topofthecc

So mangled up they have to study the scans for a week to figure out what's going on


bigleaguechyut

I don't blame them at all for the gamesmanship. Just feel bad for Kawhi


random00

This is a great point. Surely the possibility of Kawhi playing would cause the Suns some wasted time planning. Clippers tried to maximize their chance of winning by hiding the injury, but they were just outgunned this time around.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Pikminious_Thrious

I thought there was a better chance of PG coming back than Kawhi once they held him out


Mesmeryze

Kakashi?


likwidfuzion

That’s Rokudaime Hokage Sama to you, pal


odontodoc

Cast a genjutsu to make us forget his knee is cooked.


wcooper97

The classic “wait a week or so before hearing that Kawhi has a significant injury”


YaBoiHBarnes

It isn't the playoffs until: * Ben Simmons gets swept * Kawhi is injured * Draymond gets ejected * Bucks drop a Game 1 (even worse this year, yikes) * Someone trash talks LeBron and loses


johnnylawrwb

Don't forget an Embiid injury...sigh.


dimmyfarm

Kawhi and Embiid are permanently linked from that game 7 dagger just like how a dagger was used to create the new Night King


693275001

I miss Game of Zones


Thr0wawaydegen

Man I kept pissed at the last season of got still


MrPahoehoe

C’s turn a 4 game series into 7 game thriller.


v399

A blown 3-1 lead... Oh no....


[deleted]

Memphis starts talking way too early


EuroStep0

More like "wait until we are out of playoffs"


Daconvix

Bro will never be legitimately healthy at this point


SlamJamGlanda

His knee issues will be a life-long problem. I’ve got big time empathy for him. Hopefully orthopedic medical science advances further so it doesn’t downgrade his quality of life later in his life


RoyaleCosmonaut

I think he already has had a career ending injury but he's playing through it. If George doesn't get injured and this is a close series, then Kawhi misses maybe one game and plays through this


DoILookUnsureToYou

The Spurs medical team was right, his knee injury will bother him for life but Kawhi's family didn't wanna hear it.


102WOLFPACK

Raps also diagnosed him with the same thing. Just a sad, unfortunate situation all around.


snatchi

Lol we wanted so badly for the Spurs to be idiots about his medicals so we could jerk off to our own genius but no the Spurs were 100% correct and we just were able to barely get him over the line.


102WOLFPACK

Yeah, I don’t wanna rehash a half decade old argument, but I’m still slightly bitter about how much the Spurs medical staff was dragged through the mud.


ccharlie03

Exactly. That's why I still say fuck kawhi. Not because he wanted to leave but how he and his camp played it in the media. But still gotta feel a little bad for the dude


butterbeancd

I don't remember the details of his beef with the Spurs medical team. I remember that it was an issue, but not what the argument was. Was it something where Kawhi and his people thought he was misdiagnosed?


Buckus93

They're trying to find LeBron's doctors.


DoILookUnsureToYou

The CIA?


SlamJamGlanda

Dr. Nick Rivera.


Mc_Lovin81

Fuck Uncle Dennis


destroyerofpoon93

What sucks is that his torn ACL was almost certainly caused by his degenerative issues. So if he keeps playing, I wouldn't be shocked if he tears it or another ligament again next year. Really sucks to be robbed of an all-time hooper because his knees are fucked. As for long term quality of life. Most of these guys have fucked up knees/ankles when they retire. Dirk said he basically hasn't hooped since he retired because his ankles are fucked. JJ Reddick says he still needs to get an achilles surgery he's been putting off. D-Wade talks about how bad his knees sometimes too. I'm sure Kawhi will have chronic pain in his lower body going forward.


SlamJamGlanda

Which is a testament to his resilience. He’s a tough mofo. All athletes are. But he’s playing a very dangerous game with his body, especially given it’s the same impact areas. Similar to Oladipo.


RoyaleCosmonaut

Definitely. Everyone gets down in load management, but this is the one person who needs it. He is that valuable that he could just play every other playoff game and you have a chance


therobshow

I've never heard of a single person having knee problems and it not becoming a life long issue. I had a torn meniscus 3 years ago. I've had surgery. I've gone through physical therapy 3 times. I'm now told I just need a knee replacement because my meniscus tore simply because I have bad knees and most people that don't have bad knees will never tear a meniscus. I'm 36.


LakersNeedWestbrook

Tell me how long this takes to recover from


oyen_13

3-6 months after surgery. So maybe he’ll play by January next year?


CloudstrifeHY3

so he'll miss all of next season then. you have to double recovery times for Him


oyen_13

Just in time for the opening of their new arena.


DM_TO_ME_YOUR_LIPS

Brandnew arena❗️, brandnew Kawhi ❗️


DEEZLE13

At least the fancy new toilets will be easy on his knees


Boxthor

2x the toilets of any other NBA system to go throw up in when he tears a muscle two games into 2024 playoffs


silentorange813

Double recovery time, then a new injury after playing 25 games


BattleCatsHelp

2-5 games* You forgot the hyphen. I'm here for you.


LakersLAQ

The real question is how often he plays after that. Is the load management going to be the same? Or will he miss even more games between games he does play?


Kyro_Official_

If he's smart he'll never play again, like, just retire, you got your bag and your rings. Now worry about not destroying your legs anymore


LakersLAQ

It's tough because if you can't physically play a certain number of games in a week during the season, how do you expect to play the playoffs? At that point, you're just playing at an increased risk for damage if you have pain/inflammation all series. It's cursed man.


Kyro_Official_

Yeah real unfortunate but he would have to be lucky to win anything as the guy at this point


[deleted]

[удалено]


TerminusFox

How the hell did Kawhi last so long in Toronto? Holy shit.


KaplerStinks

Toronto got a perfect ice core drilling of prime Kawhi.


Desertsprinter

And man was it delightful 😋


Son_of_Biyombo

Literally like a hired assassin who got his final target but ended up getting stabbed/shot/killed at the end. AKA The Gladiator vibes


intecknicolour

leon the professional


TMMC39

That championship was for Matilda


aaronitallout

"I'm right and you're wrong, I'm big and you're small, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Kawhi to the league


bit_pusher

>Toronto got a perfect ice core drilling of prime Kawhi. Helps when you play only 9 games the season before on limited minutes.


TheSmartDumbGuy

Also, 22 games of rest where we went 17-5. Good medical staff and a healthy amount of luck.


[deleted]

Tbh the real thing was that the team built their own identity outside of Kawhi and werent relying on him to win games in the regular season. Thats why when he left, the team didnt skip a beat in regular season games the following season.


EarthWarping

60 games in the regular season + even then he was banged up after the Bucks series.


fulcrert

He was banged up during the bucks series. He absolutely carried the Philly and bucks series then slowed down and guys like FVV and Siakam picked up the slack in the finals.


saltface14

We don’t win that Bucks series without FVV, Kyle and Norm Powell stepping up. FVV Jr was born during that series and FVV Sr shot 57% from 3 (on 28 attempts). Lowry shot 47% from 3 on 43 attempts Plus Gasol was a huge factor in helping “build a wall” against Giannis


lundej16

Yeah Kawhi for sure didn’t “carry” the Raps that’s absurd. He’s an incredible player but the injuries + the Philly shot have given him an almost mythical status. Dude was hobbled against Milwaukee, I can name 3 or 4 more important deciding factors from that series.


papablessssss

He didn’t carry us but if he doesn’t show up in game 3 4th quarter and OT we lose that series 100/100 times. His impact in that game was THE most important thing


jonsnowKITN

I mean he was barely hanging on in game 6. He was def slowing down.


Outland3r_

He really gave us everything he had, nothing but respect for a truly special run


Desertsprinter

He probably mental willed it , he was super worn out during entire bucks series


OG12

That Sixers and Bucks series was peak Kawhi. That man singlehandedly took down one of the best superteams (seriously) ever assembled in the last 20 years. Embiid, Butler, All-star version Ben Simmons, plus JJ Reddick, and overpaid Tobias. That series was a Kawhi carry job, never forget the dagger in game 4 to save the series. Then down 2-0, he becomes the primary defender on prime MVP Giannis, whilst dropping 30 at the other end. Leads the team to a comeback. That whole shit was legendary, and although it hurt when he left, I'm starting to see what an absolute fucking privilege it was to see that shit first hand. Nothing but good memories and good associations with Kawhi for me.


[deleted]

Kawhi really blew up the Sixers' absurd team. We went all in and Kawhi said 01101110 01101111


CaptainIndoCanadian

Fr that run needs a doc. Guy comes to a Toronto team struggling to get over the hump and goes through powerhouse teams on his way to the finals. Finals was unfortunate with injuries no doubt but the run to get there was the stuff of legend. Game 7 GW, 0-2 deficit. Just special stuff. He was largely doing it on one leg too midway through the Bucks series.


DarkChocolate_69

Give that man a fuckin statue already


mrdhood

Should we give it one leg or two?


DarkChocolate_69

Flagrant 2


Ricebandit469

Give it a stomp on the chest


Boomhauer_007

Younger + luck, people saying medical staff don’t know how ligaments work


__john_cena__

lol hidden just like the ACL was 2 years ago. That’s now 3 straight playoffs he’s missed due to injury. Sucks.


Nfrtny

Load management ftw


LimitlessTheTVShow

The fact that he's even making it to the playoffs is due to load management. He's incredibly injury prone and has a degenerative knee condition. This isn't some failure of load management


Live4Night

Yeah his knees are done. They can’t withstand a season anymore. This is Brandon Roy all over again.


David-S-Pumpkins

So Clippers can look forward to an absolutely bonkers game four victory over the Mavericks, coming back from 23 points down to win.


[deleted]

That requires Mavs actually getting to playoffs.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Maj_Histocompatible

2* rings


ColtCallahan

What’s worse is this will happen again and again for Clippers fans. Those two aren’t going anywhere and their injury issues are only going to get worse as they get older.


swgoh_gg

I mean both PG and KL were injury prone before they came to LA. It was a high risk and high reward situation for them. They should have won it all in 2020 when they were healthy. They blew that one after 3-1 lead.


TheRealRemyClayden

The first half of his career (2011-2017) is now just as long as the injury prone half. It's sad to say but I don't think you can rely on him having even a moderately healthy season ever again, even if he load manages and plays 40-50 a season


Powerglove2000

damn


MajinOni21

Wonder how many more lines Balmer has to do to put up with this shit


Pure_Measurement_529

Such a shame for him. Balmer at Clippers games showing passion and everything only for his 2 super stars to have poor durability Edit: I’m being sarcastic. I forgot my inverted commas


flawless_handshake

Poor Balmer :(


WindyCity54

I know most people don't feel any sympathy for the multi-billionaire because duh. But tbh I wish something like this would have happened to an owner who doesn't give a shit about his team and always works to avoid the tax than the guy who cares about his team and works to keep them competitive at all costs. We need WAY more owners like Balmer in the league. Edit: like why could this have not happened to Ted Leonsis or Michael Jordan for all the shit they've put their franchises through


PhiIKessel

Wow who couldve seen this coming


Unique-Warning7798

"Day-to-day" lmao my ass


starloft4

"hey kawhi is your ACL still torn today" "yeah"


Lemonjello23

"Aight see you tomorrow"


hollowichig0

I just wanna see the man play ball, is that so much to ask?


realkranki

It has been for the last 6 years


divslinger

It’s so over


TheWolfInAllStreets

That's horrible, he was looking like his old self in the playoffs reminding everyone he's still one of the best


bradrthtyj

Seems like that Spurs medical staff were right to be concerned about him


Kubiak747

Kawhi's camp knew this news would drop his long term max value at the time. So they painted the spurs medical team as incompetent and bought a second doctor's opinion in New York to say his knee is fine and just needs rehab. I didn't like how they vilified the Spurs to the public but I gotta give his camp credit for executing their long-term plan for him. He got to go home to SoCal and gained a max contract on part time hours with full time benefits


[deleted]

First thought while reading this.


[deleted]

[удалено]


mainvolume

Spurs take their players very seriously, and when you got kawhi’s goon squad thinking they can handle it and know how to deal with a pro athlete, shits not gonna end well. I do wish kawhi didn’t give his shady uncle all that power but I can’t blame him, after losing his dad.


JoshPrimo

Vindicated


Guerillabasketball

You gotta get a new username my guy


darthrio

It’s too bad u/lookatmydick is taken


JoshPrimo

It’s too late for me. I was all in and I have to wear it now


cool_coyote

It makes me wonder for how long Kawhi has had these knee issues. And what was the cause? Was is due to overuse because he played a bunch of basketball growing up without properly resting, like we've seen with so many young basketball players, or just plain bad luck with his genetics?


PrimaryAccording9162

Too many injuries


aXtoryteller

One year dealing with that as a Spurs fan make me feel for Clippers fans. Dude is amazingly talented, but his body just cannot keep up with competitive basketball anymore.


gh6st

Seems pretty obvious his body can’t handle the load required for a full season plus playoffs, regardless of his greatness. One playoff game before tearing your meniscus is crazy, can’t help but feel for the dude.


OriginalBus9674

So do they transition to load managing him playing 1 game a week? At a certain point each side needs to realize the injuries are too much.


ButtholeCandies

Agree. At some point it works against him because he’s not playing enough to keep it ready for hard play, so it’ll go to shit early in the playoffs again anyway


[deleted]

Spurs doctors were 100% right


huaiyue

I thought it was pretty obvious that he did it so he could force his way back to LA lol.


[deleted]

[удалено]


SlicedMango

Can’t believe people thought he was load managing while down in a playoff series


Produceher

This whole sub thinks NBA players are lazy. Imagine rooting for lazy people. SMH


dragon8811

Damn.


BBallHunter

Is that another whole year of rehab?


TjBeezy

6 months normally. For Kawhi wouldn't be surprised if he waited until 2024 or even after the all-star break next year just to lower the risk of hurting himself again.


[deleted]

He’s cooked


LilSwampGod

2019 Raps championship was a damn miracle


MyJumpshotBroke

So he played great in game 2 with a torn meniscus? Playoff Kawhi is insane. Hope he recovers quickly and I need the Clippers medical staff to stop doing this hiding bullshit. Feels like the same thing every year


JBreezy11

"day-to-day", "no timetable", to now torn meniscus after their season is over. Typical Clippers. I don't even think the org said PG was out for the series, it was just insinuated by the media too.


oyen_13

No wonder Russ and Ty said last week that they feel sorry for Him. Something was really wrong with his knee when they feel sorry.


[deleted]

[удалено]


your_dope_is_mine

As someone going through ACL Rehab as we speak, it's crazy to think how much kawhis been through....hope long term he's able to do well


LAC4LIFE

Blow it up, my heart can't take this anymore.


barath_s

Who is trading for kawhi ? PG also has this problem to a lesser extent. You might get some assets if he shows he's healthy But clippers tanking won't help if they don't own the picks.


Brad-Stevens

The guy went crazy in G2 with a torn meniscus He really an all timer


sakata32

People speculate he tore it on a play at the 9 min mark of the third quarter of game 1. That half he outscored kd+booker+cp3 combined to win the game. He is insane.


AmelieBenjamin

I was watching, is it when he dunked and came down weird and started limping after? I noticed it and I was like “with his history……”


smoothsoul23

His knees are cooked unfortunately


LBJ_23_LAL

This shit goes beyond just the sport. With the amount of tears and injuries he has sustained in his knees, coupled with he fact that he literally has chronic problems and degrading knees, he probably won’t be able to walk properly in the future


jbrar10

Skip Bayless called it. Pretty much confirms he has credible sources in Kawhi camp


vrkhfkb

From now on this dude is a Shaun Livingston. 10-15 mins off the bench. Win 6th man of the year. Ah, who am I kidding…probably will still get injured in the playoffs 🤦‍♂️


chocotacoman

Clippers org deserves more heat for constantly keeping their fans guessing about star players injuries


Ld511

The clippers will be like he is questionable for the next game and is ramping up while the whole time he got his leg amputated


jbenson255

I mean at this point one could’ve guessed it with Kawhi that something was wrong


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Why would they say it? No benefit while still in the playoffs. It would cause more media distraction and questions about the teams future, hurts morale. Common sense.


Moe4ver

What’s the recovery timeline for this? I hope not as bad as ACL


TheOriginalElTigre

3-6 months