Kaman’s foot is latest on a growing injury list

Starting the season late has its advantages, and for the Clippers, the time off is starting to look more like a necessity than a luxury.

Nagging injuries are piling up. Center Chris Kaman is the latest casualty. He sprained his left foot at Monday’s practice, after having dealt with a sore lower back at the outset of training camp.

At least he had company on the sideline and in the trainer’s room Monday. He was joined by Al Thornton (sore right ankle), Tim Thomas (sore lower back), Brevin Knight (strained left hip flexor) and Aaron Williams (calf strain).

Ruben Patterson practiced Monday despite a dislocated right pinkie and Corey Maggette has recovered from a bruised tailbone, but the team still had only eight players available for practice, leaving Coach Mike Dunleavy unable to run five on five.

“I was feeling pretty good toward the end of preseason, thinking that we’ve got a lot of depth and guys were picking stuff up and had some time to go with the lag in the season starting for us,” Dunleavy said. “I thought we would be pretty good by the start of the season. And now, I’m a little concerned about preparation and where we will be.”

So, as some NBA teams open today and many others soon after that, the Clippers are one of seven stragglers that don’t open the season until Friday. And they’re thankful for it.

When asked last week whether the time off at the beginning of the season was wanted, Dunleavy said the team would welcome it now, but would likely pay for it at some point later when games would be crammed together on the schedule. “These days off turned out to be, I guess, at a good time,” he said Monday.

While none of the injuries is considered too serious and it’s unlikely anyone will be forced to miss Friday’s game against the Golden State Warriors, they are bothersome.

In eight exhibition games, the Clippers ran out their probable starting unit -- Maggette, Thomas, Kaman, Sam Cassell and Quinton Ross -- only once.

The team can ill afford any other serious injuries with Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston already sidelined. “It’s a little tough,” Maggette said. “We are going to find a way. We need to stay positive and find a way to get through this.”

Only four players (Paul Davis, Dan Dickau, Josh Powell and Ross) escaped the exhibition season without some type of injury. “I thought it was going to be used as an opportunity to bone up on new sets and plays of that nature,” Dunleavy said of this week. “Get timing and work in. But unfortunately it hasn’t worked out that way.”

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jonathan.abrams@latimes.com