Clippers’ Injury Report: What We Know (And Don’t Know) About Chris Paul and J.J. Redick

The Clippers have officially listed both Chris Paul and J.J. Redick as questionable for tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Paul suffered a left hamstring strain last week against the San Antonio Spurs, while Redick suffered a sore left hamstring last night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Don’t ask me what the difference is between a sore hamstring and a strained hamstring, I’m #notarealdoctor.

Arash Markazi of ESPN reported last night that Chris Paul would miss tonight’s game against the Nuggets. While Arash is a good reporter I’m taking that with a grain of salt. He got that nugget from Doc, who revealed post-game that when Chris Paul was ruled out of the Lakers game, they agreed to sit him in both games. A lot can change in that kind of agreement.

Chris Paul might feel a lot better today. He might feel more urgency, following back-to-back Clippers losses against lottery teams. It’s a certainty that Chris wants to play, which increases the chances of him actually suiting up if he’s on the borderline. But with hamstring injuries in general, and the team’s caution with Chris, he could miss games beyond tonight if they aren’t comfortable with putting him on the floor.

For J.J. Redick, the situation is just as fluid. He told reporters last night that his injury is a “mild, day-to-day type thing”, but noted that while he could play as soon as tonight’s game, he could also be out for up to a week.

For now, neither has been ruled definitively out or in for tonight’s contest. The Clippers could certainly use either one in the backcourt. It’s never easy to play without your three leading scorers (given Blake Griffin’s extended absence) and given Raymond Felton’s illness (101 degree fever) and fatigue (38 minutes last night), they’ll need all the help they can get.

It’s likely that regardless of their status for tonight, both hamstring stories will haunt the Clippers in the weeks to come. Without an extended absence to fully heal, tweaks are likely to re-injure the hamstring, and it can be hard to know when you’ve hit “fully healed”. Even if both players play tonight, at least one will probably miss games down the line from aggravating their hamstrings.