Blake Griffin Practices With Agua Caliente, Along With Thornwell, Williams, and Wilson

Following Tuesday night’s win against the Sacramento Kings, Blake Griffin and Sindarius Thornwell were assigned to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario for Wednesday’s G-League practice. Both were recalled following practice in order to participate in the L.A. Clippers’ Thursday NBA practice, an encouraging sign for Blake Griffin’s recovery.

Griffin has missed the Clippers’ last 14 games with a sprained left MCL suffered in late November. While initial reports indicated that he could miss up to 8 weeks, his recovery seems well ahead of that timetable and Doc Rivers noted earlier this week that Blake could return before the end of December. The earliest possible return date is Friday night’s game against the L.A. Lakers, and Griffin’s status will likely depend on how his knee responds to full participation in today and tomorrow’s practices.

Thornwell, a second-round rookie who has been in and out of the rotation, was likely just sent down to get extra practice reps, while fellow rookie guard Jawun Evans may have earned himself some rest after receiving steady playing time in recent weeks.

Griffin and Thornwell were joined at practice by two-way contract players C.J. Williams and Jamil Wilson, who were transferred to Agua Caliente in an effort to preserve their remaining days allowed on the Clippers’ roster. Two-way players can only spend 45 days of the regular season up on the NBA roster, and Wilson only has 4 days remaining while Williams has 10. Participation in tomorrow’s Clippers practice would cost another day, so expect both of them to stay with ACCO until Friday morning, when they will likely be transferred back up for the game against the Lakers.