Teodosic likes direction of team
WASHINGTON — Milos Teodosic stood outside the Clippers’ locker room late Wednesday night in Orlando, Fla., talking to friends and well-wishers, and signing autographs.
He saw reporters approaching and pretended to run away, laughing, enjoying the moment.
He wanted to avoid talking about how his game and body have progressed in the two games he has played after sitting out 22 because of a plantar fascia injury in his left foot.
So Teodosic lowered his head, grabbed a reporter’s tape recorder and said with a smile, “I don’t want to talk to you right now. We don’t talk now.” And then, of course, he talked. But the point guard’s preference was to talk first about the Clippers.
He found joy in the Clippers winning their last three games, the last two with Teodosic in the starting lineup.
“We are doing good,” he said. “We are playing better and I’m happy with the way we play on the court. There is a lot of things that we need to improve, especially on defense. We look better now.”
As much as it pained Teodosic to talk about his health, he provided insight on how his season might play out.
He had been sidelined for nearly two months after suffering his injury Oct. 21 in the second game of the season.
It was the first time he had talked about his foot issue.
“I feel good,” Teodosic said. “But I will feel something for the next two or three months. Yeah, they basically told me this pain is normal for this type of injury. But I will be fine.”
In his two games back, Teodosic has not found his rhythm. He made 28.5% of his shots. But he was willing to step up and take big shots.
He made a late three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors on Monday and a fourth-quarter three against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
“He’s played in [four] games so there’s no concern there,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s a great shooter and he makes the ones we need.
“He’s just so crafty. It’s amazing. His stats look terrible, yet he’s been such a big difference. I think he was 0 for 6 at halftime [against the Magic] and he was a plus-10. So, I don’t get caught up in his shots made or [other] numbers. I get caught up in the production, and he’s producing for us.”
Finding right formula
With their roster thinned because of injuries, the Clippers have turned to a source other than talent to give themselves a chance at winning.
“We’re just playing hard,” Rivers said. “We don’t have the luxury of talent, where we’re going to go out and out-talent the other team. We’re just going to go out and play harder than the other team.
“Every night we find somebody to help us score. …The good thing with us is the ball finds the open guy and the open guy shoots it and we keep it pretty simple.”
Etc.
Austin Rivers, who suffered a concussion Wednesday night, will not play against the Washington Wizards on Friday night because he’s in the NBA’s 48-hour concussion protocol.
Rivers, who also suffered a concussion last season, said that he would play Saturday at Miami.
TONIGHT
AT WASHINGTON When: 4. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 570, 1330. Update: Wizards All-Star point guard John Wall, who sat out against the Clippers last Saturday at Staples Center because of a knee injury, will be available this time. Wall and Bradley Beal form one of the NBA’s best backcourts. Beal leads the Wizards in scoring, Wall in assists.