Olowokandi Absence Costs Him a Start

DALLAS —  Center Michael Olowokandi skipped the team’s breakfast Thursday morning and Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry did not start him against the Dallas Mavericks. Olowokandi would play 34 minutes in relief of Sean Rooks, scoring 19 points and taking eight rebounds.

Olowokandi also would express his regret for missing the meal--sort of.

He said he was absent because he chose to sleep late after playing 35 minutes, scoring seven points on two-of-15 shooting, in Wednesday’s loss to the Utah Jazz at Salt Lake City.

“I feel bad if I disgraced myself in any way,” he said after the Clippers’ 115-90 loss to the Mavericks.

“If it was a team meeting to assess video[tape] or something like that, I would have been there.”

According to Olowokandi, Gentry simply wanted to count heads at breakfast. The players were then free to return to their rooms to sleep. Gentry refused to elaborate except to say that Olowokandi violated a team policy.

“We didn’t get in until 2 in the morning,” Olowokandi said. “I did violate the team policy. I have no regrets. I need my rest, especially at this point in the season where we’re playing so many back-to-backs [games on consecutive nights].”

The Clippers play four of their final six games at Staples Center, including Sunday against the Denver Nuggets.

The final five: Monday at Seattle, April 12 against Sacramento at home, April 13 against Minnesota at home, April 16 against Memphis at home and April 17 at Golden State. The Clippers (37-39) need four victories to have their third .500 season since the franchise moved from San Diego before the 1984-85 season.

Thursday’s game was the Clippers’ sixth and final appearance on national cable television this season. They were 4-2 on either TNT or TBS this season. They were on TV nationally only once last season. Their last appearance before that was during the 1997-98 season.