Montrezl Harrell leaves NBA bubble due to family matter

Clippers center Montrezl Harrell reportedly left the NBA bubble to tend to a family matter.

Los Angeles Clippers center Montrezl Harrell became the latest NBA player to leave the league’s Orlando bubble, reportedly due to an “urgent family situation,” per league insider Shams Charania.

Harrell joined New Orleans Pelicans star rookie Zion Williamson among players to leave the bubble, a potentially concerning trend as the NBA looks to restart its season. As Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reported, Harrell’s absence leaves the Clippers with just one center.

While it remains uncertain how much time Harrell will miss, he reportedly plans to return before the end of the season. Even after he returns, he will likely have to quarantine himself again, as is consistent with league protocol.

However, Doc Rivers and the Clippers certainly hope that he can return before the playoffs, as his scoring and rebounding have been vital to the team’s success. Harrell averaged 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game before the season was placed on hold, and his pick-and-roll game is an important cog in the Clippers’ offense.

For a title favorite like Los Angeles, losing a starter this close to the season restarting certainly hurts. The Clippers currently hold the second seed in the Western Conference, but are just four games ahead of the sixth-seeded Houston Rockets. If the team underperforms in the remaining regular season games, its first-round matchup could look dramatically different.

For now, the Clippers must plan for life without Harrell, at least in the short-term. With the season starting in two weeks, it is all but certain that the center will miss time. In all likelihood, Joakim Noah will fill in, but Rivers could also experiment with a small-ball approach. However, the ideal scenario for Los Angeles remains Harrell’s expedient return, although his timeline remains unclear.