Julian Champagnie Will Play Against Clippers After Getting Banged Up Against Detroit

Julian Champagnie was listed as questionable for the Spurs game against the visiting Clippers after he got banged up the previous night against Detroit, but the team says he's good to go.

The sharpshooter on the wing appeared on the injury report with a sore left knee after a physical battle against the Pistons on Thursday.

"He had a few different plays," Mitch Johnson said before the game when asked what happened. "I know with two minutes left, he got kind of charlie horse in the back of his thigh, and then also came down, I don't know if he came down on someone's foot, but just kind of awkwardly, and he was already a little banged up before that."

Champagnie's awkward landing came early in the second half and his discomfort was visible, but he gutted it out and finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds. He went back to the locker room briefly, and spent a good bit of time on the stationary bike working it out.

"I actually grabbed Keldon (Johnson) to send him to the table, because it looked like (Champagnie) was in enough pain that he was hobbling around, and he demanded that I do not do that. So I followed suit and told KJ that we were good, but he he was playing through some stuff, and he wanted to finish the game and he deserved to."

Harrison Barnes will miss his third-consecutive game with an injury the team has now diagnosed as an ankle impingement. Barnes had an iron man streak of 364 games before it was broken, and Champagnie is now set to play in his 165th consecutive game.

"In this day and age in this league, with the level of speed, distance covered, intensity, full-court nature that teams are playing with, availability sometimes gets over-discussed when guys are not available, and probably not as much discussed when guys are available, especially when you talk about all the time," Johnson said. "And we have some guys on this team that have checked that box and done some and he's one of those guys, and that saying availability is your greatest ability... it's a good saying."

Johnson was asked about how the team handles conversations about sitting out or playing through injuries.

"It's a collaborative effort," he said. "Obviously the medical staff leads those conversations as the experts. The players have the biggest voice in terms of what they're feeling, because it's their vehicle that they've got to use, and I think everyone else just wants to make sure we're on the same page and supporting and sharing what we think. It's a long season, and you have to somehow balance, be mindful of that, and then also, the last time you were probably 100% was back in October if even then. Hurt versus injured is a slipper slope, and everybody has to find that rhythm for themselves."