First cuts for the Clippers
After today's practice, Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy (pictured at right) was talking about the first couple of roster cuts he would be making: "David Noel and DJ."
He immediately expanded upon that thought, and smiled, saying: "We have two DJs.'
Not that we thought DeAndre Jordan was gone. ...
The DJ joining David Noel would be Dontell Jefferson. They signed as free agents a few days before training camp opened. Jefferson played four minutes against the Lakers on Thursday and had two assists; Noel had one rebound in three minutes.
"At certain positions, we have more of a need than others," Dunleavy said. "Right now, at the point guard spot, the three guys (Baron Davis, Jason Hart and Mike Taylor) are pretty good, so we can lose one there, and we just have a ton of wings with Eric Gordon coming back. That's just kind of the way it is."
So now the Clippers are down to one DJ and three players named Davis: Baron, Ricky and Paul.
Dunleavy had to make do at practice, given the sudden rash of injuries. Not practicing were Marcus Camby (bruised right heel), Paul Davis (sprained finger), Jordan (sore leg) and Tim Thomas (strained left groin). Camby could be out about four or five days. Gordon (sprained ankle) is rounding into form; he practiced for about an hour and was not limited in what he could do. Dunleavy thought Gordon would be able to play this week.
-- Lisa Dillman
Photo credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times
