J.J. Redick: Others will have to step up in absence of Blake Griffin

Chris Paul celebrates during the second half of Saturday’s win at Utah/AP photo by Rick Bowmer

 

When arguably your best player goes down, someone always has to step up and pick up the slack for a team.

“It’s a cliché, but it is the next-man-up attitude,” Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick said after his team defeated the Utah Jazz 109-104 on Saturday in Utah without leading scorer Blake Griffin, who will be out at least two weeks with a partially torn quad tendon. “Certain nights it might be one guy and another night a different guy. You cannot replace what Blake brings. For however long of a duration it is, whether it is a week or three weeks, we have to all be ready to step in and make big plays.”

Redick mentioned Paul Pierce as one guy who stepped up to the plate. Pierce scored 20 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Redick himself also did more than usual, scoring a team-high 25 points on 8 of 11 from the field – 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

Although his line score doesn’t really show it, Redick also praised the play of Luc Mbah a Moute on Saturday. He scored seven points with a steal and a block. He had just one rebound, though, in 31 minutes.