Clippers must ‘make do’ without Gallinari, Rivers
Key injuries during exhibition season is slowing progress for new-look team.
The loss of Danilo Gallinari and Austin Rivers to injuries is what’s most unsettling for the Clippers.
Gallinari’s sprained left foot (which forced him to miss his first exhibition Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers) and Rivers’ strained right glute (which forced him to miss his second game) has decelerated the teaching process for a Clippers team with nine new players.
It was likely going to be Rivers’ first time starting since he joined the Clippers two-plus seasons ago.
Gallinari, in his first season with the team after coming to L.A. in a three-team, sign-and-trade with Denver, is pegged to start at small forward.
“Not having Gallo and Austin, particularly, you really want them on the f loor because we’re doing a lot of different things,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.
“The one thing every team has on us that we don’t have are game minutes. Not only just game, but even practice minutes. Not having them at practice at all and now in games is not good for us. But it is what it is and we’ll make do.”
Rivers said he’s not as worried about Gallinari’s injury as he is about the injuries to Austin and Sam Dekker, who didn’t play in the Clippers’ 134-106 loss to Portland at Staples Center because of a left oblique strain.
Austin missed about five weeks of training during the summer while he recovered from mononucleosis.
“Sam, you know how that goes,” Doc said. “And Austin, I think we all believe a lot of this is all due to the mono. You’re tired, and so that’s a tough break for him. You can’t do anything about it and it’s going to take a while.”
Those things have taken half a year sometimes to get through it all. He’s just going to have to deal with it. Where he’s just going to have to be is really honest on his fatigue, because we have to really monitor that.
“It’s not great, especially when you have a lot of new guys and you’re putting in new stuff. But you can’t do anything about it so I’m not going to sit and worry about it. We’ve just got to teach everybody else.”
Defense suffers
In two of the three exhibitions the Clippers have lost, their defense has been too penetrable.
Offensively, they have been in a nice groove, running even more smoothly Sunday because Milos Teodosic was more engaged as a scorer.
He suffered a dislocated left pinkie finger late in the first quarter that forced him to the locker room for treatment.
But Teodosic returned in the second quarter, finishing the game with 15 points on five-for-12 shooting (four for seven from three-point range).
“We know he can pass. He’s one of the best passers I may have ever seen,” Doc Rivers said.
“But I told him before the game I want him to shoot, just shoot the ball.”
The Clippers gave up 121 points in a loss to Toronto in Hawaii. They gave up 134 to Portland on Sunday.
Even for the exhibition season, that’s way too many points.
“Our set defense has got to be pretty solid,” Blake Griffin said.
“We’ve got some things to clean up, like I said.”