Veterans Lamar Odom and Grant Hill did not practice Tuesday and according to Head Coach Vinny Del Negro, the reserve duo will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis as to their playing status.
“[Lamar] and Grant have some bone bruises [in their knees],” Del Negro said prior to Monday’s game with the Golden State Warriors. “Grant’s is probably a little worse than Lamar’s but everyone handles those things a little bit differently, your body responds differently. They’re doing all the things that don’t have anything to do with pounding; the ellipticals, the pool, all the conditioning things they can.”
After the Clippers finished their hour-and-a-half-long workout at their Playa Vista training facility, Del Negro spent several minutes answering questions about Hill and Odom’s injury situations. “They had their MRIs. They had their medical exams,” he said. “They see the doctors, trainers, they still have their workouts. I expect Lamar to be back sooner than Grant.“There’s a chance [they could be back by opening night],” Del Negro said. “I don’t know. It’s on a day-to-day basis how they feel and when they practice. I mean, they have to get some practice time in, so we’ll see who’s available probably Monday or Tuesday’s practice and then go from there.”“Having depth is a positive thing for us, no question about it and we’re going to use that to our advantage,” Del Negro said.
Forward Blake Griffin agreed, saying, getting assimilated with new players on the roster is made easier because the team is dealing with veterans. “Most of the guys have practiced. Lamar was out there for a while and once his knees are feeling better [he’ll be back]. Grant we want him to take his time and really feel healthy and not to rush anything. It’s tough to say how everything is going to work out when we have all these guys, but I’d rather have it that way than the other way around.”
Eric Patten, Clippers.com
Both are at risk of missing the season opener. Odom will probably return before Hill. Thankfully we have some depth. We'll be without Billups, Odom and Hill for a little while, but still have enough to get by. Barnes has been playing great and will have the opportunity to see more time with Hill's injury. At least one of Turiaf/Hollins will need to step up in place of Odom.
