Odom Is Done for Season

Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said some weeks ago that small forward Lamar Odom probably would not play again this season because of a sprained right wrist and ankle. He said it again Saturday.

“Lamar is not going to play again, guys,” Gentry told reporters before the Clippers played the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. “Regardless of what he says ... I mean, he’s still walking with crutches. He’d have to be playing tonight to be able to finish out the regular season. It doesn’t make sense. He could do more damage to his wrist.”

The Clippers plan to schedule surgery for Odom’s wrist, which was injured when he fell in a Dec. 16 game against the Detroit Pistons.

Odom played several games after the injury, but has been on the injured list since Jan. 24. He sprained his ankle when he stepped on a loose ball while attempting a dunk during a team workout after the All-Star break in mid-February.

Odom has played only 29 games this season because of the injuries and an eight-game drug suspension handed down by the NBA at the start of the season. He averaged 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists.

“We can look at it two ways,” Gentry said. “One, he was lost for the year. Two, it’s like adding a guy, like a top guy in the draft, to our team next season. We have not had Lamar, really, for the whole season. At most, he played 10 to 15 games for us when he was healthy.”

Gentry added that he was looking forward to seeing a healthy Odom playing next season alongside vastly improved center Michael Olowokandi and maturing power forward Elton Brand.

*

Gentry sounded defiant during his pregame session with reporters. Asked if he was ready to make a concession speech with his team trailing the Jazz by 31/2 games for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, he said he would not.

“Hey, we’ve got to find a way to make the playoffs,” he said. “Obviously, we have zero margin for error. It’s to the point where any combination of seven of their wins and our losses and we’re done.”

The Clippers needed to defeat the Jazz on Saturday and again Wednesday at Salt Lake City to improve their chances of advancing to the postseason for the first time since 1996-97.

“These games count as two,” Gentry said. “I think we probably have to win them both. Mathematically, we would still be alive, but we would only have seven games left.”

*

The Clippers won’t practice today, but will have workouts Monday and Tuesday to get ready for Wednesday’s rematch in Utah. They play the Mavericks at Dallas the next night.

“We don’t have enough [healthy] guys to practice,” Gentry said. “We’ve just got to try to gut it out for the rest of the season.”

*

Elliott Teaford