Avery Bradley unsure when or if he will return this season

Clippers guard Avery Bradley missed his fourth consecutive game Wednesday with a sports hernia injury and he remains unsure about a return date.

Bradley also said that surgery is a possibility, and that it could happen before the season is over.

But Bradley said ideally he wants to play this season.

“Right now, we’re just taking it day by day, trying to be smart about this injury,� Bradley said. “Just trying to see what the best decision is to make, what it is, what it’s going to be.�

Bradley said it’s impossible to determine when he’ll be able to come back.

“We’re just … ing it day by day and trying to strengthen up all the muscles around the injury,� Bradley said. “After that, we’re going to make the best decision, if that’s me playing or me getting surgery.�

Bradley played 22 minutes Feb. 14 against Boston. But a week later, after getting time to rest during the All-Star break, Bradley wasn’t able to practice and he has not been able to play.

“I think it was one of those things where me sitting, I was able to see that, thinking rest would make it better. But it made it worse,� Bradley said. “It’s one of those things you have to sit back and re-evaluate and make some decisions based off not only information that I got, but how my body feels. So after doing that, we went back and tried to figure out what’s going wrong. Once we were able to figure that out, we knew we needed to make adjustments going forward so it wasn’t an injury that was going to continue to linger for the rest of the season.�

Etc.

The Clippers called up guard C.J. Williams, who hasn’t played in a game with them since spraining his right ankle Jan. 10 at Golden State and put him back in the starting lineup Wednesday night against Houston.

Williams, who is on a two-way contract to play for the Clippers and their NBA development league team, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, has just one day left to play for the Clippers. That could come Friday against New York at home. When his days are up, the Clippers can sign Williams to an NBA contract that would be prorated for a rookie, or they could let him play for Agua Caliente.

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