PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – The guard group saw a welcome addition at Sunday’s practice.
Austin Rivers, who’s been out since Feb. 5 with a fractured left hand, was back on the practice court and hopes to return to action Wednesday against the Thunder.
“I’ve been shooting for the past week, been doing a lot of shooting, a ton of therapy every day, hours of therapy every day,” Rivers said. “It feels strong. I’m a quick healer. I’m very fortunate.”
Rivers is slightly ahead of schedule, returning to practice about three weeks after fracturing his hand. He’s missed nine games and will miss his 10th if he’s out Monday against the Nets.
“I’m excited to get back and be with my teammates again, compete with them again, and just to get back playing,” Rivers said.
To stay in shape, Rivers said he’s been running constantly, doing intervals on the treadmill and running every day with strength and conditioning coach Richard Williams while working on shooting with his coaches.
“My shot feels great,” Rivers said. “I feel like I have good wind, but I just want to get back with the team. I’m ready to get back.”
Rivers said he’ll need to wear a gel pad on his left hand for about a week to protect it once he returns. Luckily for him, the injury was to his non-shooting hand. He said the timetable for return would’ve been longer if he hurt his right hand.
“It’s just kind of sore,” Rivers said. “Other than that, I feel pretty good.”
Head coach Doc Rivers said Austin Rivers’ target date Wednesday sounds realistic. He said it was a good surprise to see Austin go through “a great workout” Saturday with the coaches, signaling that he’ll be ready earlier than anticipated, though he knows it’ll take some time to find his rhythm.
Beyond conditioning, Doc Rivers said it can take two to four games for a player to get his ball-handling and pace back to normal.
“For a guard, it’s harder than a big,” Doc Rivers said. “Obviously your wind, but I think it’s just your rhythm, and I’ve always said your ball-handling skills, you lose them. I don’t care how much you practice.”
Austin Rivers hopes the time off will help him feel rested come playoff time. Apart from his rookie year, when he injured his right hand, Austin said he’s not used to being out this long. Still, he knows it could’ve been worse, and it helped having the All-Star break in between.
While he was rehabbing, he said he saw Blake Griffin doing the same. Griffin’s been out since Dec. 26 with a partially torn quad tendon and later a fractured right hand, which required surgery.
“We’re going to the same people,” Austin Rivers said. “After he’s done, I go. Or after I’m done, he comes. So we’ve been just like cross-seeing each other the past couple two or three weeks. Obviously, his is more serious. He had to have surgery, I didn’t. Mine healed in three weeks; he has a little bit more to go.
“But he looks great. He’s been on the court working, so I know he’s been out longer with the stuff that’s gone on with him, so I know he’s definitely chomping at the bit to get back.”
Doc Rivers said Griffin’s been shooting for at least a week, but he’s not close to a return and there’s still no timetable, though the one good thing about the hand injury is it gives the quad more time to get stronger.
