Miles Is the Latest Question Mark

An update from sick bay ...

The cast on Lamar Odom’s sprained right wrist was removed Monday and he remained in L.A. to continue rehabilitation exercises as the team begins a five-game trip tonight against the Heat in Miami. Odom’s wrist and sprained right ankle are expected to sideline him for at least two more weeks.

Darius Miles suffered a sprained right shoulder Monday when he charged into Portland’s Bonzi Wells and fell heavily to the floor. His status for tonight’s game was termed questionable by the team Tuesday.

Elton Brand’s injured right ring finger probably won’t keep him from playing tonight. Heck, the Supreme Court probably couldn’t keep Brand off the floor, although he has injuries to his finger, elbow, knee and shoulder.

Corey Maggette continues to limp through games on a sore left knee. He had 10 points in 36 minutes Monday, occasionally matching up against Trail Blazer power forward Rasheed Wallace.

“It’s important for us to get well, period,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “This has been the craziest year for injuries. Last year, we had almost no injuries until Corey got hurt at the end. This year, we have not had our whole team out there for one game.”

When it was mentioned that despite the injuries the Clippers are within striking distance of a playoff spot, Gentry said, “As I’ve said all along, we have pretty good depth. The guys have been able to weather it [the injuries] and hang in there.”

TONIGHT

at Miami, 4:30 p.m.

Site--American Airlines Arena.

Radio--KXTA (1150) at 6:30.

Records--Clippers 26-28, Heat 21-30.

Record vs. Heat--1-0.

Update--Miami is 12-4 since suffering a 34-point loss Jan. 12 against the Phoenix Suns, gaining a measure of respectability after a poor start. The Clippers defeated the Heat in a Dec. 4 game at Staples Center that left Miami with a 12-game losing streak and a 2-14 record. Miami is 11-13 against teams with .500 or better records, but is 10-17 against opponents with less than .500 marks. The Clippers are 3-10 at Miami.

Elliott Teaford