Jaric Can Practice, but He Can’t Play

It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear, but Marko Jaric got some good news Thursday when tests revealed that his broken left thumb was nearly healed and that he would be able to start practicing with the Clippers this morning at Los Angeles Southwest College.

“I’m excited,” he said.

But Jaric, the Clippers’ starting point guard, will be held out of exhibitions until after he is reexamined Wednesday. He’ll continue wearing a splint.

“It kind of limits you,” he said of the protective plastic. “You don’t feel comfortable, 100%, but at least you’re playing.”

Injured last month in a pickup game, Jaric has been limited to conditioning since the Clippers opened camp Oct. 5 and sat out Wednesday night’s 105-83 exhibition loss to the Phoenix Suns. X-rays taken Thursday, he said, showed that his damaged thumb was about 80% healed.

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Further tests on Corey Maggette’s injured right pinkie this week revealed a cracked bone. Maggette, the Clippers’ leading scorer last season, is not expected to resume practicing until the finger is reexamined next week.

Reluctant to sit out, he said the team was being overly cautious but seemed to endorse the recommended course of action.

“I’m not going to rush it,” he said. “It’s only preseason.”

Maggette, injured when he deflected a pass in practice last week, predicted that he would sit out two or three more exhibitions. The Clippers play four games in seven nights starting Saturday against the New Orleans Hornets at Lafayette, La.

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Shaun Livingston had no assists in 27 minutes against the Suns.

“I don’t think it was his fault,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said of the 19-year-old rookie point guard. “He delivered the ball to guys who either didn’t make shots or didn’t finish shots....

“Overall, he was OK. I like the fact that he’s very coachable, he wants to learn. He sat down after the game with me and asked about different points in the game, what can he do and what did I see at that time. So, that part of it was fine.

“I had no real issues with his game. That’s a pretty positive point, I would say, in the sense that typically when you have a high school guy go in, somebody’s really going to go after him defensively and try to embarrass him. The times he got scored on, I thought he actually played great defense.”

Livingston made three of five shots and finished with six points, two rebounds, two turnovers and five fouls.