The Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the NBA’s great surprises thus far in the 2024-25 season. Much of the offseason talk was about how they were expected to regress after losing Paul George in free agency. That was before it was even known that Kawhi Leonard would yet to play a single game through the Clippers first 24 outings. Even with that, they own a 14-10 record, good for seventh place in a hyper-competitive Western Conference.
Other than Leonard though, the Clippers have mainly stayed healthy. Entering Wednesday, the team had seven players who appeared in all 23 games. After Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, that number is down to six who have played in every game for the Clippers. Terance Mann missed his first game of the season, and he will certainly miss more.
Clippers Guard Needs Finger Surgery, Re-Evaluated in 3 Weeks
Mann Had Yet To Miss A Game This Season Prior To Injury
Now in his sixth NBA season, all with the Clippers, Mann turned 28 years old on October 18. Los Angeles selected him in the second round (48th overall) in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Florida State.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard missed his first game of the season on Wednesday. His absence from the lineup will continue. Law Murray of The Athletic stated that Mann will have surgery on the fractured left middle finger. Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times later tweeted out that Mann will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
Clippers said that Terance Mann (fractured middle finger left hand) will have surgery tomorrow and be re-eval in 3 weeks and Kobe Brown (herniated disc) and will be re-eval in 2 weeks).
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) December 5, 2024
After starting the first 11 games of the season, Mann has come off the bench for Los Angeles in the ensuing 13 contests. He was benched due to some subpar play to start the season. Now coming off the bench, Mann has certainly improved his efficiency connecting on 48.6% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc in his 12 games as a reserve. In his 11 games as a starter, he shot just 37.5% from the field and 20.0% from beyond the arc.
In his 23 outings, Mann is posting averages of 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steals. All of those numbers (other than steals) would be his lowest since his rookie season of 2019-20.
Blowout Loss On Wednesday For LA
The Clippers first game without Mann did not go well. They were downed at home by the Timberwolves by the score of 108-80. Los Angeles was also without leading scorer Norman Powell (hamstring management) and Kevin Porter Jr. (ankle). It was an ugly offensive performance by the Clippers as they shot an atrocious 34.9% from the field and 27.5% from deep, and Los Angeles dropped to 9-5 at home.
If Mann’s three-week timetable after surgery to get re-evaluated doesn’t change, he will miss at least the next six games. Five of the Clippers next six contests are against teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings.
Mann’s most productive season came in 2020-21. He averaged career-highs in scoring (10.8), rebounding (5.2), and assists (2.6). Thus far in the 2024-25 season, Mann is shooting career-lows from the field (43.8%) and from three-point territory (34.0%). For his career, he has averages of 8.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists with a shooting split of .500/.371/.787.
