Clippers’ Livingston Suffers Knee Injury

Shaun Livingston, the Clippers’ first-round draft pick, will sit out at least eight weeks after dislocating his right kneecap during practice Monday.

Livingston, 19, injured his right leg while rebounding during a three-on-three drill. He was taken to orthopedist Tony Daly for an examination. An MRI test revealed no structural damage to the knee, according to a statement by the team.

Livingston was working with a group supervised by Coach Mike Dunleavy and cut down the middle to go after a rebound. Moments later, he was clutching his right leg on the floor.

“Shaun was going up for a rebound and was off-balance,” Dunleavy said of the guard. “He landed wrong.”

Livingston’s injury comes with the Clippers on the verge of having their full roster for the first time this season.

Guard Kerry Kittles, who had been out while recovering from off-season knee surgery, played for the first time this season Sunday against Phoenix. Center Chris Kaman is expected to return to the lineup when the Clippers play New Jersey on Thursday.

Livingston became the latest in a line of Clipper players who have suffered misfortune.

In the 1988 draft, the Clippers selected Danny Manning first overall. He played 26 games, then suffered a knee injury that ended his rookie season. He never seemed to fulfill his potential.

Early in the 1989-90 season, the Clippers acquired Ron Harper from Cleveland, then lost him to a season-ending knee injury, occurring in a game in which he scored 33 points. He played four more seasons with the team, then signed with Chicago, but only after he compared playing for the Clippers to being in jail.

In 1997-98, the Clippers lost Loy Vaught, their leading scorer and rebounder the previous three seasons, to a back injury that required surgery. He signed with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent after recovering the following January.

Lamar Odom’s four seasons with the Clippers were spent battling injuries, as well as drug problems. He played only 78 games in his last two seasons with the team, mainly because of wrist and ankle injuries. During the 2001-02 season, Odom dunked during a team shootaround, landed on a basketball and suffered a high ankle sprain.

Before last season, the Clippers matched the six-year, $82-million offer Elton Brand received from the Miami Heat. He then broke his foot before the season opener, played in the game but then sat out the next 13 games. Brand said he did not know how the injury happened.

The Clippers selected Livingston, a highly recruited point guard from Peoria Central High in Illinois, as the fourth player in the draft. Team officials envisioned the 6-foot-7 reed-thin Livingston would become one of the NBA’s top point guards, and set a high standard for him.

“Pure point guards are born,” Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor said after the team drafted Livingston. “Shaun has the skills and the intelligence to be a great one.

“When you saw Magic, when he was in high school, he was able to make the fantastic plays with his passing, just like Shaun. Magic was also slim back then, which is very similar to what this kid looks like.”

Livingston had averaged 21 minutes a game through his first 11 games with the Clippers.

*

Kaman will go through a complete practice today, in preparation for what he hopes will be his season debut Thursday. Still, he was not expecting much at first.

“It’s a fast game and I’ve been out awhile, so it is going to be really fast,” Kaman said.

Kittles learned that, after playing 24 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Suns. He said his knee felt fine Monday, but his back was slightly sore.

*

Dunleavy said that he had talked with his players about the brawl that marred the Detroit-Indiana game Friday, which included Pacer players and Piston fans scuffling.

“Everyone knows that is something that is not good, going into the stands,” Dunleavy said.

Still, Dunleavy said, there is a line fans should not cross.

“Fans are going to heckle you, trying to help their team,” Dunleavy said.

“But it goes too far when they start talking about your family, or your mother.”