Stotts: Hood 'cleared all the protocols' before tearing Achilles

The Portland Trail Blazers are down another key piece after Rodney Hood suffered a torn Achilles tendon against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

In the wake of the devastating injury, head coach Terry Stotts believes the organization exercised the necessary precautions with Hood, despite the forward exiting the team's previous contest Wednesday with Achilles soreness, according to The Athletic's Jason Quick.

"I know it was bothering him last game, but I don't know that he injured it last game. He cleared all the protocols," Stotts said following Portland's 136-113 loss, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell.

Hood suffered the injury after securing a rebound with 3:29 remaining in the opening quarter, collapsing to the floor in pain.

"Very disappointed for Rodney, who was having a good year for us. I hate for anybody to have an injury that takes them out for the season," Stotts added.

Portland's backcourt stars, CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard, expressed their own disappointment when reflecting on Hood's diagnosis.

"It's heartbreaking," McCollum said. "I know how hard he worked, the type of season he was having, what he means to our team. You never want to see anything like that ... We'll be praying for him and help him get back to 100%."

"You hate to see one of your teammates go down to an injury like that, especially a starter and somebody that was really a good person having a great season, fitting in really well with our team, a big part of what we do," Lillard added.

Hood is the Trail Blazers' third notable rotation piece set to miss significant time this season, along with center Jusuf Nurkic and forward Zach Collins. Kent Bazemore, Mario Hezonja, and Nassir Little will likely replace the bulk of Hood's minutes in his absence.

The short-handed Trail Blazers sit 11th in the Western Conference with a 9-14 record. They'll return to action Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.