Maybe J.J. Redick could play with his sore right hip, but Clippers Coach Doc Rivers is taking no chances with his starting shooting guard, who will sit out Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Redick said his injury has improved, but he will listen to Rivers and miss his fourth straight game.
“I don’t think that I’ll play tomorrow. That’s what Doc says,” Redick said. “It’s a day-to-day thing.”
With the All-Star break coming up Thursday through Sunday, Redick will have had two weeks off to make sure his hip is 100% healthy.
The Clippers will practice Monday and then play the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday at Staples Center.
“I hope things heal up over the break. That’s the goal,” Redick said. “So hopefully it’s Monday’s practice and Tuesday’s game.”
After sitting out Wednesday’s game, Redick will have missed 25 games this season with various injuries, including a broken bone and torn ligaments in his right wrist. He has played with a bruised left knee, sore right shoulder and back spasms.
This season Redick is averaging 15.7 points and 28.8 minutes per game and is shooting 45.9% from the field, 39.6% from three-point range.
He hasn’t done much, though, since injuring his hip. Rivers shut Redick down during a shoot-around last Wednesday before the Clippers played Miami that night.
“There’s no point of me coming out here jumping with a ‘noodle leg,'” Redick said. “It feels like there is a nerve that’s not firing and it’s like a lag.”
Ready for Portland
In many ways, the Clippers and Trail Blazers are trying to climb the same ladder in the ultra-tough Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder has the top spot in the West and the Spurs were second, 3 1/2 games behind the Thunder and half a game ahead of Portland before Tuesday’s games. The Clippers and Houston Rockets were 1 1/2 games behind the Trail Blazers.
The Clippers are led by their All-Star duo of point guard Chris Paul, second on the team in scoring (19.2) and first in the NBA in assists (11.1), and power forward Blake Griffin, who leads the team in scoring (23.9) and is second in rebounds (9.8).
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are led by their All-Star tandem of point guard Damian Lillard, who is second on the team in scoring (20.8) and first in assists (5.7) , and power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who leads the team in scoring (24.1) and rebounds (11.5).
“They’re good, we’re good,” Rivers said. “It’s that simple. It’s two good teams playing and two good teams that want to play. So that’s always nice. I enjoy those games.”
Twitter: @BA_Turner
