Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said Chris Paul has been medically cleared to play after recovering from surgery on his left thumb on Wednesday, according to Clippers.com’s Rowan Kavner.
Chris Paul injury return could happen as soon as Thursday
Paul is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Rivers has yet to decide if Paul will play Thursday against the Warriors but said he looked good in practice and could play if needed. The Clippers play the Spurs in the second game of a back-to-back on Friday.
Paul tore a ligament in his left thumb in a Jan. 16 loss to Oklahoma City and missed 13 games recovering from surgery. He was expected to miss six-to-eight weeks and is ahead of his injury timetable.
The Clippers went 6-7 with Paul recovering from surgery and are 8-12 without their starting point guard on the season. The nine-time All-Star is averaging 17.5 points, 9.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game, shooting a .395 percent clip from three-point range.
Paul rejoins a fourth-seeded Clippers team (35-21) in danger of losing home-court advantage to the Utah Jazz (35-22), just a half-game behind Los Angeles in the Western Conference standings.
He also comes back to a healthy Blake Griffin, who returned from a minor knee surgery on Jan. 24 after missing 18 games.
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