Local outlets are circling Brandon Ingram's return, Keaton Wagler's workload and Rui Hachimura's shooting, but the club's own facts support only part of each storyline. At 1-4 with five players out, the debate is running ahead of the roster.
The Ingram return story is real, but it has no date attached.
Clipperholics wrote that Brandon Ingram's highly anticipated return will do wonders for the Clippers. The injury list backs the first half only loosely: Ingram is out with a right Achilles issue and an estimated return of Nov. 8, which is a projection, not a clearance. By our count he is 4 rebounds short of 3,000 for his career, and he averages 33.8 minutes when healthy, the most of anyone currently out. His absence explains part of a 104.4 offensive rating. It does not explain all of a 110.3 defensive one.
The Wagler workload complaint fits the minutes, not the shooting.
Clipperholics argued that the Clippers are asking a lot of Keaton Wagler and that he has become inefficient, and wrote separately that he must not let a rough night against Minnesota linger. Over five games this season he averages 26.2 minutes, 14.4 points and 35.7 percent from three. That is a small sample and a rookie's usage, so the efficiency charge is plausible but thin. The rotation has no obvious alternative while Strus, Beal and Miller are out.
The Hachimura contract debate rests on four games of shooting.
Clipperholics wrote that the Clippers may have overpaid Rui Hachimura as his shooting woes continue. This season he is at 10.8 points and 33.3 percent from three in four games, and he missed time with a quadriceps issue before being cleared. Payroll data shows him at $14.0 million, fourth on the books behind Garland, Ingram and Strus. A modest number and a short sample do not make an overpay. He also passed 500 career threes against Minnesota.
The trade and tinkering talk has little footing in the standings.
Clipperholics floated a Darius Garland trade proposal to Phoenix, and Clippers.com previewed the Warriors game. The first is one outlet's hypothetical; nothing in the Clippers' own reporting suggests Garland is available, and he leads the team at 22.0 points and 6.2 assists in five games. ESPN framed the night as a chance to end a four-game skid. The Warriors are 3-3 and the tenth seed today, 1.5 games ahead of a Clippers team sitting 13th. The best lineup so far, Dunn, Jones, Hachimura, Garland and Jackson, is plus 5.5 over 62 minutes.
When is Brandon Ingram expected back for the Clippers?
His estimated return is Nov. 8, and he is currently listed out with a right Achilles issue. That date is an estimate, not a clearance.
Are the Clippers' struggles only about injuries?
Injuries are a large part: by our count the Clippers have lost 1,495 minutes to injury since opening night, the most in the league. But a 110.3 defensive rating and a 104.4 offensive rating show problems beyond who is missing.
