INGLEWOOD — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue’s first thought when he saw center Ivica Zubac land hard on the court during Saturday night’s victory over the Lakers was “a word I can’t say.”
His second thought was what now? The team has been beset by injuries all season, starting with veteran point guard Bradley Beal suffering a season-ending hip injury to Kawhi Leonard’s foot issues that kept him out for 10 games and the MCL sprain that has sidelined Derrick Jones Jr. since mid-November.
And now Zubac, the Clippers’ ironman and leading rebounder, is out for at least three weeks with a Grade 2 sprain of his left ankle.
“DJ is trending upwards and getting close and then Zu goes down,” Lue said Monday. “Just like a revolving door. But I told Zu, get healthy, we’re going to try to hold it down while he’s out and our guys are up for the challenge.”
The one thing Lue didn’t have to think about was who would fill Zubac’s role. That job falls to former All-Star center Brook Lopez, who has played sporadically in 21 games and at one point, was out of the rotation.
He came in for Zubac, who got hurt 11 minutes into the game against the Lakers, and scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots in 25 minutes. Lopez is averaging 6.0 points and 2.0 rebounds off the bench in 14.7 minutes per game.
“Well, Zu’s irreplaceable, so I think we’re going to be doing a lot of it just by committee,” Lopez said. “We’re all going to have to step up a little bit … take it one game at a time.”
Power forward John Collins is expected to see time at the center position as well as rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, the Clippers’ first-round draft pick. Niederhauser has been dealing with a sore left knee but participated fully in Monday’s practice, getting reps with point guard James Harden.
To help prepare for Tuesday’s game against the Houston Rockets (17-9), Lopez worked with Harden on the pick-and-roll the past two days.
“He’s so talented, but he’s such an intelligent player as well,” Lopez said of the 11-time All-Star guard. “He sees the floor better than almost anyone I’ve played with. He understands what’s going on in the game.
“Obviously, he’s seen every kind of defense, every type of defense and individuals that have tried to guard him and his teams. He’s just so brilliant at reading defenses, and so getting to play with him, see what he sees, hear his input, his feedback, and just getting that experience has been very good.”
Lopez said the Clippers (7-21), who snapped a five-game losing streak with their 107-88 victory over the Lakers, have made “vast improvements” over the few games.
“I think incrementally each game we’ve gotten better. And so, we just need to keep that trend going,” Lopez said.
Lue said that ongoing confidence stems from hard work, staying mentally tough and having the resolve to play better than their record.
“The guys are not giving in, giving up. And when you play hard and you have opportunities to win a game or one possession games, that means you’re putting in the work and you’re getting better,” Lue said.
ROCKETS AT CLIPPERS
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood
TV/Radio: FDSN SoCal, NBC (Ch. 4), 570 AM, 1330 AM