There’s No Quit (or W) in Clippers

The Clippers are young and prone to make mistakes. At times they might play bad basketball and look like a team that lacks fundamentals.

But one thing they will surely not be is predictable.

After watching the Vancouver Grizzlies give them an up-close-and-personal look at how a young talented team plays to win for more than three quarters Thursday night, the Clippers found their groove, only to fall short in losing their home opener, 99-91, before a crowd of 15,546 at Staples Center.

In dropping to 0-2 on the season, the Clippers showed why they’ll be a Jekyll-and-Hyde team this season.

When the Clippers don’t play smart and fail to make up for their errors with effort--which they did in falling behind by 20 points early in the second half--they are simply a young team with plenty of holes.

But when the Clippers utilize their talent and versatility--which they did in cutting Vancouver’s lead to five points late in the game--they are a difficult team to play.

“We came in the locker room and said, ‘Dang, if we only had five more minutes,’ ” said Lamar Odom, who finished with 17 points. “If we start games like we finished tonight’s game, we’re going to have a pretty good year.”

With a lineup made up of center Michael Olowokandi, guards Corey Maggette and Jeff McInnis and forwards Darius Miles and Odom, the Clippers made a furious rally in the fourth quarter. Using their athletic ability, the Clippers forced the tempo with a trapping defense. They used a 12-2 run to cut a 90-75 deficit to 92-87, but they never got closer than that.

Unfortunately for the Clippers, Vancouver is also a young team hungry to turn things around. The Grizzlies, who improved to 2-0 following an opening-night victory over Seattle on Tuesday, finished with four players scoring in double figures.

Shooting guard Michael Dickerson led Vancouver with 20 points and five assists, while his backcourt mate Mike Bibby had a solid game with 11 points and five assists. Othella Harrington also had a big night with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

After getting ejected in the Clippers’ season-opening loss at Utah, Odom bounced back with a strong game. Not only did he lead the team in scoring but he also added six rebounds and six assists.

“It was hustle. It was all-out effort,” Odom said about the Clippers’ comeback. “It was our pride on the line. We’re going to change things around here. It’s going to happen slowly but surely.”

Miles had his moments on offense but was guilty of several defensive lapses that led to points for the Grizzlies. If he wasn’t turning his head, leaving Dickerson open on the perimeter, Miles was getting caught on defensive switches and getting hurt inside by either Harrington or Abdur-Rahim.

The Clippers should have known they were in for a long night when they had minor problems with their pyrotechnic team introduction and they almost lost a starter before the game began when residue from a fire machine got into the eyes of McInnis, the point guard.

McInnis was not seriously hurt, but after his vision cleared, he probably didn’t like what he saw because Vancouver jumped all over the Clippers early.

If it wasn’t Dickerson knocking down soft jump shots, it was Abdur-Rahim working his mid-range game or Harrington powering inside for easy layups. Before the Clippers knew what hit them, Vancouver had made nine of its first 15 field goals.

“We have to do a better job with one-on-one defense,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “Sometimes we got beat so easily, our big guys had to step up and that created problems.”

After leading by seven points to start the second quarter, the Grizzlies continued to play efficiently and waited for the Clippers to make mistakes, which happened enough for Vancouver to take a 54-41 lead into halftime.

Gentry tried to shake things up early in the second half by teaming Sean Rooks with Olowokandi in an attempt to get more size inside. Gentry also had his team pressure more on defense. Neither move worked too well.

What did work for the Clippers was when they began to pressure the Grizzlies all over the court. The tactic was effective because it took Vancouver out of its offensive flow and the Clippers were able to open the floor and run more in the fourth quarter.

“The bottom line is that we’re going to get better,” Gentry said. “For a young team, everything is about learning.”

COVERAGE

Open House

for the Kids

This isn’t the same dead-head Clipper team that stunk out Staples last season, Mark Heisler writes. D13

Will They Ever

Come of Age?

Young Clippers might amount to something if they can get past growing pains, T.J. Simers writes. D2

ALSO

Rider Playing

T-Ball

Despite being on pace for 82 technical fouls, Laker guard doesn’t believe he is a target. D12

Trail Blazers

Lose Again

Portland committed 25 turnovers and Tony Delk scored 22 points for Suns in a 108-82 romp at Phoenix. D12

THURSDAY’S

BESTS, D12