Another man is down due to injury for the Los Angeles Clippers, as guard Austin Rivers sustained a broken left hand with the team making the announcement Sunday.
According to ESPN, Rivers, son of Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, injured the hand in Wednesday's 108–102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and is set to be evaluated today, with sources expecting him to miss four to six weeks.
The report added that Rivers hurt his hand before getting ejected during the game versus Minnesota because of confronting an official, with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirming the injury.
Rivers was originally selected by the New Orleans Pelicans 10th overall in the 2012 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft.
However, the former Duke Blue Devil struggled to get significant playing time and a major role with New Orleans, finding those when the Clippers traded for him last season.
In his father's system, Rivers became a major part of the Clippers' rotation and is the backup of All-Star point guard Chris Paul.
This 2015–16 NBA season, the 23-year-old guard is averaging 8.1 points (career-best), 1.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 21.6 minutes of action per contest.
The first game Rivers missed because of the injury was a 107–93 victory over the Orlando Magic last Friday and Sunday's 100–93 triumph over the Miami Heat.
Expected to step up in Rivers' absence is experienced point guard Pablo Prigioni, who is just coming back from an injury.
Rivers' recent health setback is a challenge for Lob City since before this, the team was already missing star forward Blake Griffin.
Griffin had a quadriceps injury on Christmas Day that was already keeping him out of action. He then hurt his hand during an altercation with a member of the team's staff which is set to sideline him for a longer period of time.
Despite the injuries, the Clippers are not slowing down and are continually climbing in the Western Conference standings, currently fourth with a 34–17 record.
