Milos Teodosic practices again with Clippers, but his return to games is uncertain
As Doc Rivers eased his way down from his coach’s office holding a sheet of paper with Friday’s practice schedule, he casually looked into a side room where his players were either working out or milling about.
Rivers stopped for just a moment and bellowed, “Milos, let’s go!”
And with that, guard Milos Teodosic was on the court preparing to practice again as he finishes rehabilitating from an injury.
Teodosic still was not expected to play Saturday afternoon when L.A. plays the Washington Wizards at Staples Center, but it was another step in the right direction for the point guard who has not played since injuring his left foot in the second game of the season.
“I don’t see him playing tomorrow, but he may,” Rivers said before Friday’s practice. “But I really doubt that.”
Teodosic practiced on Monday with the Clippers’ development league team and again with the Clippers on Tuesday.
He looked good in the session with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, but Rivers had some concerns about Teodosic when he practiced with the NBA club.
Rivers said Teodosic was able to take part in some “contact last practice” on Tuesday and that Friday was going to be a “full practice.”
Rivers said he’ll leave it up to the Clippers’ medical staff to decide when Teodosic can play.
“I just go by what they tell me ... don’t expect him tomorrow,” Rivers said. “But there’s no limitation for him today.”
The next Clippers game after facing the Wizards is at home Monday night against the Toronto Raptors. Then the Clippers start a four-game trip in Orlando on Wednesday night.
Rivers said the positive sign is that Teodosic has been able to practice after being out the last 21 games recovering from his injury.
“He’s ready. He’s close,” Rivers said. “Milos will be playing in a couple of games, for sure. I just don’t want to say what game because I don’t know.”
Gallinari ready
Two days after playing for the first time in 13 games, Danilo Gallinari said his conditioning was “very good” and was not the source of his frustration for a two-for-13 shooting performance that netted him seven points Wednesday night against Minnesota.
Gallinari had missed four-plus weeks recovering from a strained left glute.
“It’s just the game rhythm,” Gallinari said. “You can practice as much as you want, but the game is different, so I’ve got to get back to the game rhythm and find it. That’s the main goal.”
He reported no issues with his glute and was able to practice Friday.
The Clippers have lost four consecutive games and that bothered Gallinari more than anything else.
“It’s frustrating when you lose a game,” Gallinari said. “If we would have won the game, I wouldn’t have any problems. But we lost the game and I didn’t play the way I wanted to play. So, I didn’t help the team the way I wanted to help the team. That’s the frustrating part.”
UP NEXT
VS WASHINGTON
When: 12:30 p.m., Saturday
On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 570, 1330.
Update: Shooting guard Bradley Beal has been an efficient scorer for the Wizards in the last two games. He dropped in a career-high 51 points against Portland and followed that up with 34 points against Phoenix. He was a combined 34 of 59 (57.6%) from the field in those games. Wizards All-Star point guard John Wall is out because of a left knee injury.
Twitter: @BA_Turner
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