By Lisa Dillman, Los Angeles Times
Just
what the Clippers don't want to see when Chris Paul is lurking around
the corner and an oh-so-modest goal of .500 is within reach:
Eric Gordon is injured.
The
second-year guard is suffering from a sore left groin, making him
doubtful for Monday night's game against Paul and the New Orleans
Hornets at Staples Center.
Gordon didn't suffer a specific acute
injury but experienced discomfort and soreness during the fourth
quarter of Saturday night's victory over Memphis.
The Clippers
(3-4) didn't have a full-scale practice Sunday, when they mostly
watched game film. Gordon was rechecked in the morning and the decision
was made to rest him.
He is considered day to day, but
day-to-day injuries have a way of turning into week-to-week when it
comes to the Clippers, and naturally they are hoping this is an
exception.
Facing Paul was always going to be a tough task for
the Clippers, let alone without one of their best defensive players and
second-leading scorer.
"I still think we have to do a better job
of getting him more volume of shots," Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy
said. "He's a good shooter, good off the dribble, good attacking the
rim. Unfortunately I still don't think he gets respect from the
referees.
"After the fact, so many times on the film, we feel like he gets fouled and he just doesn't get calls."
Should Gordon start acting like a soccer player and start flopping?
"He
needs to be one of those squeaky wheels," Dunleavy said. "Part of it is
that he's a great kid. He doesn't say 'boo.' But he gets zero calls.
Not that he should get calls that aren't fouls. He should get the calls
that are fouls."
If Gordon can't play, the Clippers could move
Rasual Butler from small forward to shooting guard. Other potential
fill-ins include swingman Ricky Davis and guard Kareem Rush.
Davis
has appeared in two games and the most he played was nearly 17 minutes
Friday night at Golden State. Rush also, has appeared infrequently,
playing in just three games.
Gordon is averaging 18.9 points,
second on the team behind Chris Kaman's 23.0. Kaman, who is shooting a
team-high 58% from the field, has scored 20-plus points in six straight
games.
Gordon, usually durable, has played big minutes early this season, logging 40 or more four times. He is averaging 38.3 minutes.
One
of the times he didn't need to go past the 40-minute mark was in
Friday's rout of the Warriors, in which the starters were able to rest
most of the fourth quarter. He went 41 minutes against the Grizzlies
with 15 points and six assists, and was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Gordon also contributed to a solid defensive effort on O.J. Mayo, who scored only eight points.
