Rowan Kavner
LOS ANGELES – Chris Paul is expected to return to the lineup Thursday against the Warriors, according to head coach Doc Rivers.
Rivers said during his pregame press conference Paul (groin) will play, while J.J. Redick (back spasms) will likely be out.
Four days of rest between Saturday’s game against the Pistons and Thursday’s game against Golden State gave Paul enough time to show Rivers he was ready to go.
“Honestly, yesterday before practice, I had decided he wasn’t playing, just me,” Rivers said. “That was just the way I felt watching him go the day before when he didn’t do any contact. Really, it was more just (head athletic trainer Jasen Powell) decided he should sit out that practice and have one good one. Then watching him yesterday, he looked normal. He looked great.”
Paul missed the Clippers’ game against the Rockets with a groin injury before playing against Memphis and Dallas. But the groin was still giving him trouble, and he missed each of the Clippers’ last two games against Phoenix and Detroit.
In his first game against Golden State this year, Paul had a season-high 24 points, nine assists and three rebounds.
Redick has also missed each of the last two games, and Rivers said early in the week he’d be particularly conservative with the shooting guard because of the nature of the injury. Redick was able to get some shots up during shootaround, but it was going to take more than that for Rivers to give him the green light.
For the Warriors, Shaun Livingston (strained left hip flexor) and Kevon Looney (right hip surgery) are out.
