Chris Paul was direct and to the point about his injury.
Asked how much of a concern it was for him with his right hamstring, Paul responded: “None.”.
And with that, Paul suited up and played for the Clippers in Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center on Monday.
Paul grabbed his hamstring late in the second quarter of Saturday’s game after he chased down Warriors guard Stephen Curry and knocked the ball out of bounds.
Paul came out of the game with 36.2 seconds left in the second quarter, but came back right back in after the Warriors turned the ball over.
But while sitting on the bench getting a rest during Game 1, Paul had his right hamstring wrapped up.
Paul said he has been getting treatment on his hamstring.
“I got as much as you possibly could,” Paul said. “We’ve got, to me, the best training staff in the league.”
Paul sat out 18 games this season because of a separated right shoulder that he still wears a pad on for protection.
Paul, who never wants to sit through injuries, said he “couldn’t fight” through his shoulder injury.
Coach Doc Rivers was asked if he was concerned about Paul’s hamstring.
“I don’t know,” Rivers said. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
J.J. Redick is hanging in there
Rivers said there was a time this season when he didn’t think J.J. Redick would come back to play after sitting out 25 consecutive games because of a bulging disk in his lower back.
Redick played in five regular-season games before the playoffs started Saturday.
“I don’t know if he’s better. He’s feeling better than what he did,” Rivers said. “But there’s going to be no 100% for him this year, for sure, and we know that. We’re prepared for if he has to miss a game. We know that that could happen because that’s realistic. … We’re just going to play him until he says he needs a break. And when he does, somebody has to cover for him.”
DeAndre Jordan gets votes
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan finished third in the voting for the NBA‘s defensive player-of-the-year award that was announced Monday.
Jordan got eight first-place votes, 121 total.
Jordan led the NBA in rebounds, averaging 13.6 per game, and was third in blocked shots, averaging 2.48.
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah won the defensive player-of-the-year award and Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert was second.
“I thought he should have won,” Rivers said about Jordan. “[But] I think that’s a great step forward DeAndre and he should look at it that way.”
Twitter: @BA_Turner
