Kaman Plans to Play Through Pain of Sore Left Thumb

A sore left thumb slowed center Chris Kaman in the preseason, and it might continue to bother him well into the regular season.

“It’s still messed up,” Kaman said Sunday after practice at the Spectrum health club in El Segundo.

“I’m getting therapy and we’re working on it, but I don’t know how long it’s going to take to heal. It could be a couple of months, I just really don’t know.”

X-rays and MRI exams of Kaman’s thumb did not reveal damage, the Clippers said, but the 7-foot, 265-pound player said he had limited range of motion. Catching the ball has posed problems, and the injury has worsened with contact.

“The problem is, with the type of injury that it is, it gets better for a while until you get hit,” he said. “As soon as you get hit, you go right back to square one, and it’s going to get hit all the time.

“I sat out a few [exhibition] games, and it got better. But then I got hit and it started hurting again. It makes me stagger a little bit, it’s painful sometimes, but I’m just trying to play through it.”

Kaman started in 50 of his 63 games last season and averaged 9.1 points and 6.7 rebounds. Coach Mike Dunleavy said he expected improvement from Kaman, who planned to start the opener Wednesday against the Seattle SuperSonics.

“I’m definitely going to be out there,” he said. “I’m really not concerned about the thumb, and I don’t even think about it until somebody hits it.

“That’s when I remember, ‘Oh, my thumb is messed up, I’ve got to be kind of careful.’ But I’m still going to play as hard as I always do and try to do the things I’m supposed to do for this team.”

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Forward Corey Maggette (strained left hamstring) said he still expected to start at Seattle.

“That’s always the plan,” Maggette said. “I’ve still got time, so we’ll see.”