Confirmed! Knee injury is severe! Clippers' key forward collapses suddenly

On November 17 last year, Jones hurt his knee in the game against the Celtics and was out for more than a month.

In the recent Clippers' 115-146 loss to the Celtics, Jones, shortly after his comeback, injured his knee again...

Insider Shams:Jones has been diagnosed with a grade 2 sprain of the right knee's medial collateral ligament, with a reassessment planned after six weeks.

Perhaps from now on, whenever facing the Celtics, whether injured or not, Jones should rest. It's better to avoid trouble than to face it; health comes first.

Born on February 15, 1997, Jones is a 1.98-meter tall wing and the most athletically gifted player on the Clippers today. This season, he has played 17 games, starting 13, averaging 24.2 minutes, contributing 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game, shooting 55.6% from the field and making 1.3 three-pointers per game at a 40% success rate.

This guy was a starting forward for the Mavericks in the 23-24 season, helping them reach the Finals as a crucial team piece. His salary this season is $10 million, rising to $10.48 million next season.

Currently, the Clippers hold a 12-22 record, ranking 12th in the Western Conference, tied with the 11th place Mavericks and trailing the 10th place Grizzlies by three wins.The road to the playoffs remains challenging, but the team is in decent form lately, winning six of their last seven games. Fortunately, this month's schedule is relatively favorable, with most opponents being play-in or lower-tier teams.

Of course, the Clippers' past strong performances were largely thanks to Leonard’s stellar play. However, when he fails to carry the team, they tend to collapse. In the heavy loss to the Celtics mentioned above, Leonard shot just 6 of 17 attempts, scoring 22 points along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, being thoroughly outplayed by Jalen Brown, who scored 50 points with 3 rebounds and 5 assists.

Therefore, if the Clippers truly want to make progress, they must break their excessive dependence on Leonard. Players like Harden need to step up, as the team's collective strength has always been the key to winning.