LOS ANGELES — Jawun Evans wasn’t a part of the Clippers’ plans when his rookie season began. He forced them into playing him, though. He filled a need and his role grew when first Milos Teodosic and then Patrick Beverley suffered injuries in the opening weeks of 2017-18.
Evans provided a spark whenever he entered games. He pressured opposing guards and badgered them around the court, none more so than presumptive league MVP James Harden of the Rockets during a Clippers victory on Dec. 22 in Houston.
The Rockets didn’t know who he was, but they learned quickly about the 6-footer from Oklahoma State. Evans averaged 5.6 points, 2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 40 games, then he disappeared from view, sidelined by a lower abdominal injury.
Evans made his return to the Clippers’ lineup for Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Staples Center. He wasn’t expected to play a big role in his first game since Jan. 20. Coach Doc Rivers wasn’t certain he would play a minute after he was listed as questionable.
The Clippers’ guard rotation has changed significantly since Evans’ last game. They acquired Avery Bradley from the Pistons as part of the deal that sent Blake Griffin to Detroit on Jan. 29. Bradley has since been sidelined by a similar injury and there’s no timetable for his return to the lineup.
Austin Rivers and Lou Williams manned the guard positions Friday, with Evans joining Milos Teodosic and Sean Kilpatrick as backups. Kilpatrick was signed to a 10-day contract Sunday to bolster the Clippers’ backcourt.
Doc Rivers welcomed Evans’ return.
“Just another guard,” he said. “We’re guard light. Having another guard helps us. One of his skills is ball-pressure. That can really help us where we have a guy now who can get up and pressure the ball and use clock, so I think that will be good. I don’t know how much he can give us. We’ll see.”
Evans said he was sound after an extended layoff.
“I feel great,” he said. “Just working out and trying to get back in condition.”
Pressure, what pressure?
The Clippers awoke Friday to find themselves in the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference standings, mere percentage points ahead of the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz. They also were two games behind a three-team logjam for fifth.
If they were feeling the pressure to win and move up in the standings as they began their stretch run, it wasn’t evident to their coach. He couldn’t tell if they were feeling the heat with the 82-game regular season measured now in weeks rather than months.
“That’s actually a question I’ve never known the answer to,” he said. “I mean, I feel the same way I felt last week or two weeks ago, but I’m not playing. Thank goodness for that. I don’t know. I would say the guys are pretty comfortable in their own skin or their own team way.
“I don’t think anybody could tell that. I think you could see it in their play, though.”
INJURY UPDATES
Rivers couldn’t say whether Bradley or Danilo Gallinari were making significant progress as they attempted to return from debilitating injuries. Bradley sat out for the eighth game and Gallinari was sidelined for the seventh because of a fractured right hand.