LOS ANGELES – Before the question finished leaving the mouth of a reporter, Chris Paul cut it off short.
He already knew the answer about the Clippers' lack of practice time from a hectic schedule.
“Don't have two games between games until Dec. 7,” Paul stated emphatically at a mid-November press conference.
From their home opener Oct. 30 through their Nov. 21 matchup against the Raptors, the Clippers played 14 games in 23 days – the most in the NBA in that span – and that was before embarking this week on their lone six-game road trip of the season.
The Clippers took off Tuesday for Dallas in preparation for their Wednesday night matchup against the Mavericks, marking their first game of a road trip that spans 11 days and more than 6,000 miles.
That Oct. 30 home opener marked the last time the Clippers received two days off between games; it's in those rare circumstances during an NBA season where practices become possible. Without more than a day off between games again until early December, normal practices just aren't feasible.
Yet the Clippers persevere.
They're still 13-2, holding the NBA's top record. They use every off moment to rest or prepare their bodies. Shootarounds before games basically become light practices or film sessions. The process right now: game, sleep, film, game, repeat.
“We're used to it,” said Raymond Felton. “We know what we have to do – we just have to make sure we get our rest, make sure we're not doing nothing extra outside basketball. We're pretty much playing, traveling, playing, traveling.
“On days off, it's really no day off. You've still got to come in and get your work in so you stay in shape and stay tuned up.”
A lot of that is on the players, which Paul attributes to a trust factor from head coach Doc Rivers. Paul said, in a locker room full of veterans, this group understands what it takes to stay in the shape necessary to grind through the most grueling parts of an 82-game season, such as the one the Clippers find themselves in now.
“Especially with the schedule looking the way it looks, he does a great job of making sure we get our rest, as well as trust in us and knowing we're going to be pros and getting our work in,” Paul said. “It's not always about quantity, it's about quality.”
And on the days where a player doesn't have the energy, which is inevitable during the stretch the Clippers are on, Paul said teammates do a good job picking up one another. As he said, if someone's tired, it's not an excuse.
That's translated onto the court, as the Clippers are 8-0 on their four back-to-backs this season, despite what J.J. Redick called one of the toughest stretches physically he can remember in a long time in his career.
“You start the season nine (games) in 14 days and don't get another two-day break until the first day of December, so this is a tough stretch,” Redick said.
This will mark the first time the Clippers hit the road for more than two games this year, and he actually looks forward to what he called a big trip – the kind that can bring a team even closer together. Not to mention, with two kids at home – including a newborn to care for – two weeks on the road might actually mean more time to find moments to sleep, much to Redick's wife's chagrin.
“Twelve nights in a hotel, she's letting me hear it, for sure,” Redick said with a grin.
From Dallas, the Clippers get a day off before playing in Detroit; then a day off before playing in Indiana; then a day off before playing in Brooklyn, which precedes a back-to-back in Cleveland and New Orleans to finish the trip.
And no one needs to remind them about the schedule or the constantly fluctuating time zones, though they're going into it optimistically.
“It's just making sure you get rest, taking care of your body,” said Blake Griffin. “And it's actually nice there's no back-to-back until the end.”
