Clippers regroup while Chris Paul recovers from thumb surgery

J.J. Redick stood with his back against the wall before practice and stared straight ahead as he contemplated playing basketball without Chris Paul, while the All-Star point guard recovers from surgery he had Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.

The two Clippers guards talked Tuesday, and Redick said his backcourt mate’s “spirits are good.”

As for the rest of the Clippers, Redick said their only choice is to stay the course while Paul goes through six to eight weeks of rehabilitation before he’s ready to play again.

“As a team, we’re just got to keep playing and try to win as many games as possible until we can get back to full strength, hopefully sometime in March,” Redick said Wednesday.

Paul injured his thumb in the second quarter of Monday night’s game at home against Oklahoma City.

Blake Griffin is also rehabbing from right knee surgery, though he is expected to be able to play by the end of the month.

For the moment, the Clippers don’t have their two best players. But Coach Doc Rivers refused to let his group complain about their difficult circumstances.

“Sometimes you have good rolls, sometimes you don’t,” Rivers said. “This is not a season-ending injury. That would affect you more. But, it’s not. I look at this as an opportunity for a bunch of guys who haven’t played together a lot.

“We still have new guys — Alan [Anderson] is new and Raymond [Felton] is new and Mo [Mareese Speights] and Brandon [Bass]. This is a good opportunity for them to learn how to execute together. When everyone is back, when you get Chris and Blake back, if this group can execute … I think it makes us better in the long run. This is not the way you want to do it, but this is the way it’s been presented.”

The Clippers are down to just four guards, and three of them are starters in Redick, Felton and Austin Rivers. Jamal Crawford is the lone guard coming off the bench.

In his role as president of basketball operations, Doc Rivers said “we look” at other options. The Clippers have the NBA’s maximum of 15 players on their roster and would have to move a player if they brought in another guard.

“We can always do something,” Rivers said. “But we always look.”

Redick also wanted to make sure everyone knew the Clippers are not feeling sorry for themselves.

“When I got the news yesterday, early afternoon, I was like, ‘Yeah, OK.’ You’re disappointed,” Redick said. “You immediately start thinking about solutions. You don’t start thinking about, ‘Woe is me.’ ”

Etc.

Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had an excused absence from practice Wednesday, but he is expected to play Thursday against Minnesota. … Kevin Garnett, a Clippers’ consultant, was back at practice working with players.

Up next

CLIPPERS VS MINNESOTA

When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Staples Center.

On the air: TV: TNT; Radio: 570.

Records: Clippers 29-14, Timberwolves 14-28.

Records vs. Timberwolves: 1-0.

Update: DeAndre Jordan, who is second in the NBA in rebounding (13.9), is averaging a league-best 17.6 boards per game in January. Minnesota second-year center Karl-Anthony Towns is third in the league in double-doubles with 31, and he also has one triple-double game. Minnesota has three players averaging more than 20 points per game — Towns (22.0), Andrew Wiggins (21.6) and Zach LaVine (20.1).

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter @BA_Turner