WEDNESDAY, 10:41am: The Clippers are optimistic that Rivers will be back at the early end of the timetable because he doesn’t need surgery on the hand, coach/executive Doc Rivers said, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 9:17am: Rivers’ left hand is fractured, Dan Woike of the OC Register confirms (Twitter link). Woike added that Rivers will be further evaluated on Monday.
SATURDAY, 10:14pm: Clippers combo guard Austin Rivers will be sidelined four to six weeks with a broken left hand, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Rivers suffered what the team called a hand contusion during Wednesday’s game and was a game-time decision for Friday’s contest before being held out.
“I went into the lane, and something, either an elbow or something, hit me just dead in the middle of my hand,” Rivers told Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. “I just got a bad bone bruise, swelling around it.”
The Rivers injury is the latest blow to a team that is already missing star forward Blake Griffin with a broken hand. Rivers has averaged 8.1 points in 46 games this season, mostly in a back-up role. His loss could mean more playing time for Lance Stephenson, who has struggled for minutes until recently.