Max Strus Out Four Weeks With Plantar Fascia Tear, Because Preseason Basketball is a Trap

The LA Clippers are already in midseason form, and by that, I mean they are losing key rotation pieces to foot injuries before the regular season even tips off.

Guard Max Strus suffered a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot during Sunday's preseason game. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Strus will be reevaluated in four weeks.

"Sources tell ESPN he will be reevaluated in four weeks."

Preseason basketball is supposed to be a glorified cardio session where guys get their legs under them and try not to pull a hamstring. Instead, the Clippers are now down a crucial floor spacer for at least the first chunk of the regular season.

A partial tear of the plantar fascia is the kind of injury that sounds bad and usually feels worse. Four weeks is just the timeline for a reevaluation, which is medical speak for checking the foot again and potentially adding more time to the clock.

Anyone looking at early-season Clippers win totals or player prop markets needs to factor in a serious lack of spacing. Strus is on the floor to shoot the basketball so the rest of the offense has room to operate, and without him, opposing defenses are going to pack the paint.

The Clippers now have to scramble their opening night rotation to cover the gap. We will see where Strus stands in early November, but until then, Los Angeles is going to have to find its three-point shooting somewhere else.