LOS ANGELES – The LA Clippers will be without guard Patrick Beverley For Wednesday night's Game 2 between the LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers told members of the media about Beverley's status, and added he doesn’t know if Pat re-injured his calf sometime last game, but says he just wasn’t moving well at this morning’s shootaround.
“He's out,” Rivers said plainly. “In shootaround, he just wasn't moving well. We just scratched him.”
Rivers adds that he doesn't have a sense of when Beverley will be able to return from this re-aggravation of the calf strain.
“I don’t have any sense. Obviously, it's something that has lingered, but I have no sense whether he plays next game or this is one of those things that takes a week or so. I just don’t know.”
Beverley returned from a multi-week absence due to the same calf strain in Game 1 against the Mavs, but struggled to stay on the court. He finished with just eight points, five assists, and two steals in 20 foul-plagued minutes of action.
Rivers didn't name a replacement for Beverley, but did speak of Reggie Jackson as if he was the probable starter for today's game.
“He's just been up and down,” Rivers admitted. “On his good nights, I think he's very solid defensively. He's more of a point guard than a scorer. He gets everybody going and then allows it to come to him. I guess on his bad nights is when he tries to force things and then he takes a step back defensively. We need the one that really sets the tone defensively first, point guard, and then play from there.”
In 17 appearances, Reggie Jackson has averaged 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 45.3 percent shooting for the Clippers. He even started six games when shorthanded, and could very well be called upon for Game 2 as well.
In 51 appearances this season, Patrick Beverley averaged 7.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for the Clippers on 43.1 percent shooting.
More to come…
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