Bucks' Dudley says he played hurt at request of Clippers' coach Rivers

Jared Dudley is having something of a renaissance, showing the flashes he displayed earlier in his career this season with the Milwaukee Bucks. 

The swingman is shooting a career-high 50.6 percent from the field and his 44.2 percent stroke from deep is so far the second-best he's produced in eight NBA seasons. 

Yet sandwiched between the Bucks and those earlier flashes with the Phoenix Suns was an injury-plagued season last year with the Los Angeles Clippers. Dudley played that season with a fracture in his right knee and he told Grantland's Zach Lowe this week that Clippers coach Doc Rivers requested he keep playing.

I basically went to Doc Rivers and said, 'Hey, I've never had to deal with this, I can't bend my knee, all my shots are short, I can't move laterally, I need to sit out.' At that time Matt Barnes was out with a calf injury and J.J. Redick was out with a herniated disk and he said, 'Hey, I need you to give me 10-15 games and when those guys come back, I'll give you a rest.'

As a result, Dudley admits his stroke suffered (he shot a career-low 43.8 percent). "I couldn't make a shot, all my shots were short," he told Lowe. 

Rivers replaced him in the rotation with Danny Granger and Dudley was ultimately traded to the Bucks in August. 

He says he's healthy now and told Lowe he's taking pleasure in succeeding after his Clippers experience.