Austin Rivers Injury: Updates on Clippers Guard's Hand and Return

Daniel KramerFeb 5, 2016

Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers had been out with a broken hand since Feb. 5; however, he is ready to return.

Continue for updates.

Rivers Active vs. Thunder

Wednesday, March 2

Rivers is available to play Wednesday night against Oklahoma City, per Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.

Rivers Comments on Playing Status

Wednesday, March 2

The Clippers provided comments from Rivers, who indicated he is ready to play against the Thunder on Wednesday:

"
“This was actually the game they wanted me to play, just because I wasn’t really quite ready for the Brooklyn game. It’s amazing how much can change in two or three days, just your hand healing.”
[...]
“I think I could’ve played, maybe, versus Brooklyn, but I didn’t have the confidence in my hand yet. I needed two or three days of physical 1-on-1 to really test my hand. Now that I’ve done that, I know my hand’s ready to go and I’m ready to go.”
"

Doc Rivers Comments on Son's Recovery Time

Wednesday, Feb. 10

Clippers head coach Doc Rivers hopes the guard can return in four weeks since he didn't need surgery to repair the injury, per Kavner.

Rivers Injury Was Damaging Blow to Clippers Depth

Rivers has been quite a reliable backup to superstar Chris Paul but hasn't been a full-time starter since his rookie season in 2012-13 because of Paul’s presence—the star guard played in all 82 games last year.

Yet Rivers' minutes and role have steadily increased since he returned from a nasty ankle sprain in December—an encouraging sign after starting the season 14-of-68 (20.6 percent) on three-point shots. He's shooting 43.8 percent with 8.1 points per game, both career highs. He's also averaging 21.6 minutes, up by 2.3 per game from a year ago.

He scored more than 10 points five times in January in what was easily his strongest month since joining the Clippers prior to last season.

"I'm just back to being confident," Rivers said, per the Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch. "That doesn't mean just scoring, it means being comfortable out there playing and having fun. I know what I need to do and I go for it and try to be aggressive."

Conventional logic would suggest Rivers is on the verge of slowing down, but he's continued to maintain a strong pace that may force the Clippers to consider him as their full-time sixth man.