The Clippers’ preseason opener came with a familiar kind of sickening moment: Max Strus went down less than six minutes into his first game in a Clippers jersey, hobbled straight to the locker room, and never returned in the team’s 104-101 win over the Warriors yesterday.
The diagnosis arrived soon after. ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Strus has been sidelined until after the regular season opens later this month after suffering a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot.
“LA Clippers guard Max Strus suffered a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot during Sunday’s preseason game and will be reevaluated in four weeks, sources tell ESPN,” wrote Charania on X.
Strus’ stat line was brief and forgettable: one rebound, one missed three-pointer. The bigger story was the walk back to the locker room, and the blow it delivered to a Clippers fan base already on edge.
“That’s never good to see when it’s a non-contact play,” said Lue on Strus’ situation after the game.
The injury continues an ugly pattern for Strus, who is now expected to miss the start of the season for the third straight time because of a foot injury. He missed several weeks in 2024-25 with a sprained right ankle, then sat out most of the 2025-26 season because of a Jones fracture in his left foot. Now, with a partial plantar fascia tear, he’s looking at another stretch on the sideline in 2026-27.
Before the game, the Clippers’ head coach said he was excited to use Rui Hachimura and Max Strus as the team’s key new additions this summer. He also said Hachimura and Strus quickly picked up team strategies and didn’t take long to learn the playbook.
That plan is now on hold until at least a week into the regular season. And for a Clippers roster already dealing with a long injury list, the timing couldn’t be much worse.
Strus is the third key veteran expected to miss the start of the season, joining Brandon Ingram, who has a partially torn Achilles, and Bradley Beal, who is dealing with a knee injury. The team is also without several young players, including Kobe Sanders with a left hip impingement, Jordan Miller with a torn left rotator cuff, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser with a foot issue.
The Clippers are now set to face the Raptors.
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