when is ricky davis coming back ? Have the Clippers talked to Jason Williams at all ? Is Baron Davis secretly injured ? hes shooting so horribly.

–I’ll take these one at a time. Ricky is expected back around Christmas, though that is not a firm date and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him out until after New Years. It’s the kind of injury you want to make sure is really healed before you come back, because that was the point of sitting out so long in the first place.

–To my knowledge, the Clippers have not spoken with Jason Williams since he retired before the start of training camp.

–I don’t think Baron is secretly injured, as you put it, but I do think his finger affected him in the early part of the year. I think it affected him more in terms of dribbling than shooting. But the last time I looked at it, the finger looked quite a bit better than before. I’ll ask Baron about it the next time I see him.

What is Baron’s relationship like with Dunleavy? Does Baron respect him? Do they have a friendly relationship like Dunleavy seemed to have with Cassell?

— That’s a hard question to answer because I don’t get to see them behind closed doors. I think coach is close with some players. Actually, I know he was very close with Cuttino Mobley, even after trading him. I don’t think he’s formed that bond with Baron yet, though from what I’ve seen he’s definitely tried.