“I’m amazed how clean he gets steals in traffic,” Rivers said.

Not that he is immune from workplace hazards. One of Paul’s more devastating injuries occurred last April, against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. As Portland’s Gerald Henderson drove for a layup, Paul used his left hand to strip the ball away from Henderson. The problem was that Paul entangled his right hand in the back of Henderson’s jersey.

He led a fast break in the other direction, but the damage was done: He had broken the third metacarpal in his right palm. The Clippers lost the next two games and the series without him.

“Right when he did it, you could see me react on the sideline,” said Rivers, who did not react well. “I knew what it was. Because I had done the exact same thing when I was playing.”

This season has been another exercise in perseverance for Paul, who sprained his left thumb at a preseason practice, which was bad enough. Then, in January, he tried to squeeze past that screen against Oklahoma City — a collision made worse by the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, who tried to draw a foul by jumping into Paul.

“I tried to shake it out because I’ve jammed my thumb a thousand times,” Paul said. “I thought it would calm down. But I could see how swollen it was. I said: ‘I tore it. I know I did.’ ”

After spending several weeks squeezing a tiny rubber ball to rebuild the strength in his thumb, Paul has since returned to the court. He would like to stay there.

“Just trying to keep my hands out of the way,” he said.