Doc Rivers was ‘unprepared’ for J.J. Redick to miss Wednesday’s game

Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said he found out that J.J. Redick couldn’t play Wednesday against the Utah Jazz only five to 10 minutes before tipoff.

“I was unprepared for that one,” Rivers said.

Redick was sidelined during the Clippers’ 94-89 win over the Jazz with back spasms he was suffering because of a hit he took during the fourth quarter of Monday’s win over the Denver Nuggets.

Redick is averaging 14.9 points a game on a career-high 46.8% shooting. He’s also shooting 44.1% from beyond the three-point line, and will participate in the three-point shooting contest during All-Star weekend for the first time in his career. He has 5-1 odds of winning the competition, according to Las Vegas betting site Bovada.

Redick is listed as questionable for Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, though the Clippers said he would try to play.

“It’s his back,” Rivers said. “It’s everything.”

Even though the Clippers defeated the Jazz, their play suffered in Redick’s absence. Jamal Crawford, the reigning sixth man of the year, was forced to start, which took away the team’s scoring punch from the reserve unit.

In fact, the only nonstarter to score Wednesday was Austin Rivers, who had his best game yet as a Clipper with 12 points on five-for-eight shooting in 22 minutes and 22 seconds of play.