Seattle SuperSonics power forward Vin Baker practiced Wednesday and said he will play against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, although his injured thumb is far from 100 percent.

As he completed a post-Christmas practice with his teammates, Baker clearly was protecting the partially torn ligaments in his right thumb.

Wearing a brace, Baker constantly fiddled with the contraption, had difficulty shooting the ball, and was hesitant to aggressively go after rebounds, probably afraid the hand would be hit and the ligaments torn more severely.

"I want to play," said Baker, who missed the game Saturday against the Detroit Pistons after injuring the thumb Friday against the Golden State Warriors. "I would rather play than sit out another game. The one thing (the trainers) are worried about is if I get hit on it again, it could completely tear it. But I am not really worried about that. With the brace on, it should completely stabilize it."

How effective Baker will be remains a question. Averaging 17 points and seven rebounds, he is unlikely to be as effective as he has been this season.

"It was pretty hard for me to get my shot off," Baker said. "There is still pain there, but the brace is what is affecting my shot. I am controlling the ball differently than I normally do. But hopefully, it will be better tomorrow."

Baker said he and trainer Mike Shimensky will try to design a brace that fits him better and is more comfortable.

That, however, will not affect the mental aspect of his rebounding.

"It's kind of the same thing with the eye," said Baker, who got hit above his eye a few games back. "I must have gotten hit in the eye about eight times the other night. So it is the same thing with the thumb; I just feel like it is going to get hit. It's not completely healed, and I am still a little tender with it, but I got to fight through it."

Baker's teammates are hopeful he can perform against the Clippers, because as the Sonics (14-15) try to get back to .500 by winning their fifth consecutive game, they have a little payback in mind.

When the Clippers romped to a 114-94 victory Dec. 12, a game in which they led by as many as 29 points, the young upstarts did so with little regard for future meetings.

Second-year forward Darius Miles did some unnecessary rim-rocking dunks in the waning minutes, and as the clock ticked off its final seconds, benchwarmer Harold Jamison got in a showtime dunk of his own, bringing his teammates off the bench with smiles and high-fives.

Granted, it might be the only time all season that Jamison gets to dunk, but Sonics coach Nate McMillan will use anything for motivation at this point.

McMillan played down the Clippers' showboating after practice Wednesday, pointing out that Los Angeles coach Alvin Gentry apologized after the game.

But Desmond Mason revealed that McMillan pointed out the Clippers' theatrics in the team's film session prior to practice.

"Coach McMillan made that very clear," Mason said. "It's embarrassing when they can get you down to the point where they can laugh and joke, they put the subs in and the subs get dunks and things like that. It's embarrassing. So we want to pay them back and we want to be on the other side."

The Sonics will be short-handed when they face the run-and-gun Clippers, who played the Philadelphia 76ers at home Wednesday night.

Rookie Vladimir Radmanovic is listed as a game-time decision after getting hit in the head during a game of one-on-one Wednesday. Radmanovic suffered a mild concussion Saturday when he landed awkwardly after a dunk and hit his head on the floor. The smack Wednesday caused more dizziness in Radmanovic, who was immediately sent to the doctor.

Meanwhile, centers Calvin Booth and Jerome James practiced and continued to improve, but McMillan said neither is ready to play tonight.

Which might be just as well against a Clippers team that shows little sympathy for players who can't get up and down the court with them.

"We will run with them," McMillan said. "But I think you have to be smart about it. If you don't have a good shot, slow it down and show patience."