Livingston takes studious path
For all the sitting and watching he is doing, Shaun Livingston hopes it will make him a better player.
Still rehabilitating from a serious knee injury, Livingston said he is watching plenty of game footage and is confident it will transform him into a more intuitive player when he returns, possibly in mid- to late March.
“I think the game will be easier and slow down, once I get back into rhythm,” he said. “It might take a little bit -- because I’ve been out for so long -- but I think watching film and everything will help me.”
He said the hardest part of his return is the fear of reliving the injury, in which he suffered a dislocated knee and three torn ligaments last February while attempting a layup.
“Getting my rhythm back and mentally, my movements and playing and being aggressive without fear of making the same injury,” he said of the hardships.
Earlier this season, Livingston could be spotted before games working on his jump shot.
But at a recent medical checkup he was advised to reduce some of his on-court drills and focus on strengthening the knee.
There are no concerns of reliving the injury while just taking practice jumpers, Livingston said.
“It’s so different from a game-like situation, going into the hole with traffic and taking a body and landing and the impact,” he said. “You don’t deal with that when you are just bouncing around taking jump shots.
“There’s no [Amare] Stoudemires. No Dwight Howards. Or KGs [Kevin Garnett].”
Livingston said he is unsure whether he will play in summer league, but regardless, he’ll work through the summer instead of taking a usual break.
“Once I’m 100%, I’ll be able to make the adjustment coming back to play, but I still want to continue to work through the summer,” he said.
Coach Mike Dunleavy unequivocally said Sam Cassell is still a fourth-quarter player, even though Cassell did not play against the Dallas Mavericks late in a close loss Saturday.
“Usually, we’d go back to Sam in that situation, but the other night, the other team had two quick guards [Jason Terry and Devin Harris], we had a lead, Brevin [Knight] was playing well and I stayed with that, and it should have been good enough to finish it off,” Dunleavy said.
The Clippers are expected to offer guard Guillermo Diaz a second 10-day contract. His first 10-day contract expires later this week.
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