It appears as if Clippers reserve guard Jamal Crawford will play Saturday after completing a two-hour practice Friday, though the team still has him listed as a game-time decision.
Crawford, who has sat out the last five games because of a strained left calf, said there was “definitely a chance” he would play against the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center.
Crawford said the decision will be made after he wakes up Saturday morning and sees how the calf responded to practice.
“Waking up tomorrow and not feeling anything after [Friday’s] practice, that’ll be the last thing to clear,” he said. “So it’ll be a game-time decision.”
Crawford said he had a “hard workout” Thursday and that the calf “felt really good.”
He also said he hasn’t felt any pain in the calf.
“It feels really, really good, even after that first workout,” Crawford said. “There are no residual effects.”
The Clippers have three regular-season games left before the playoffs start next week.
So Crawford, a leading candidate for the NBA‘s sixth man of the year award, was asked whether he was rushing his return.
“Obviously I’m pushing it from the standpoint that I want to be out there,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll make it worse. It feels good.”
Crawford, third on the team in scoring (18.6 points per game), has missed 13 games because of the calf injury he originally injured Feb. 26 against the Houston Rockets.
He has been in and out of the lineup ever since, sitting out three games when he was first injured, playing one game, sitting out five more, playing in five and then sitting out the last five.
He also knows he may be rusty.
“I think the longer you’re out, the harder it becomes,” Crawford said. “That’s why you kind of want to get back out there. I’m sure I’ll be rusty. I’m sure I’ll miss shots I normally make. You have to get out there and get that rust off, and the quicker you get it off, the better you are.”
Etc.
Forward Danny Granger will miss his seventh consecutive game because of a strained left hamstring. There is no timetable for his return.
Twitter: @BA_Turner
