CLIPPERS' TALENT SHOW GOES ON L.A.'S YOUNG GUNS WILL COMMAND RESPECT FROM THE START OF THE SEASON.

Byline: Joe Stevens Staff Writer

The meaning of the word ``Clippers'' actually could be changing.

An ugly major-league baseball team used to be known as ``The Clippers of Baseball.'' An NFL team that couldn't tackle used to be ``The Clippers of Football.''

But through some shrewd deals and wise draft picks, ``Clippers'' now might mean a young team on the rise. It might.

This season, Los Angeles' other NBA team hopes to take another step in its youth movement. As general manager Elgin Baylor considers the playoffs a reasonable goal, the team hopes to improve upon its 31-51 finish last season. With the addition of power forward Elton Brand and with a more mature team, a reasonable goal seems to be 10 more victories.

``We certainly have the talent to make the playoffs,'' Baylor said. ``... This is the most talent we've ever had.''

And Baylor has been in the Clippers' front office since 1986. Heck, he was here in the Clippers' heyday in the 1991-92 season when they had their lone winning season in L.A.

This will be coach Alvin Gentry's second season, and he's optimistic. Yet he shies away from measuring his squad's success quantitatively.

``I don't have any numeric goals, and I won't put any on our team,'' Gentry said. ``What we got to do is make sure that we're a better basketball team than we were last year. And that will be decided by the close games.''

Last season, one of the Clippers' problems was their inability to win close games. For example, their overtime record was a morale-killing 3-10.

In order for the Clippers to improve during the close games and overall, Gentry points to the stalwart basketball categories of rebounding and turnovers. In their exhibitions, the Clippers finished 5-2, but they were erratic in both of those categories.

In a sense, rebounding and turnovers underscore the problems with youth. Some of the young players haven't been around long enough to know how physically demanding, on every shot, rebounding can be. Turnovers frequently are a result of poor decision-making, and that often happens because of inexperience.

Regardless, because of their 15-game improvement last season, the Clippers showed they are heading in the right direction. The mere fact that they were able to land Brand helps show that.

The Chicago Bulls, desperate for a change, opted to go ultra young, similar to the Clippers the previous year. The Bulls were following a Clippers blueprint, of all things.

But it came at the high cost of Brand, who averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds. The Bulls traded him for the No. 2 overall pick Tyson Chandler on draft day. That left the Bulls with Chandler and No. 4 pick Eddy Curry, two players right out of high school, and that left the Clippers clicking their heels.

Brand's presence should be huge, if he can average close to 20 points and 10 rebounds. He's one of the top power forwards in the NBA and, with small forward Lamar Odom, has the potential to be an All-Star.

The Clippers' biggest inside threat last year was center Michael Olowokandi, who averaged just 8.5 points. Brand is that threat now, and that should help all aspects of the offense, from opening up the court for outside shooting to making offensive rebounding stronger.

``This is the best things have ever looked for me in my profession career,'' Brand said. ``It's definitely a different position to be in than with the Bulls. I look at all the positions here, and we got top talent everywhere.''

Brand still calls the Clippers ``Lamar's team,'' but in reality, the duo will be leading the team.

In a stark contrast from past seasons, there are only a few minor issues surrounding the team. Gentry will use a 10-man rotation, and he will have tough decisions to make with his substitutions. He will have to juggle the playing time of eight-year veteran Eric Piatkowski, Quentin Richardson and Corey Maggette.

Piatkowski is slated as the starting shooting guard, but the other two are capable of filling that role. The plan for playing time will be made on a per-game basis.

``When you're a deep team, you are going to have to go with the hot hand on any given night,'' Gentry said.

Jeff McInnis, two years removed from the CBA, will be the starting point guard. He'll have a similar role as last season, to be the playmaker and not be a liability. Second-year player Keyon Dooling will be his backup.

And don't forget about Darius Miles, who will be the sixth man. The Clippers' future likely will be to keep Odom, Brand and Miles in L.A. Miles will provide a spark of emotion and athleticism off the bench.

Last season, the Clippers were calling for respect. And now, the sky hasn't fallen, but yes, the former laughingstocks actually have been receiving respect. For the first time in a long time, the simple act of getting respect no longer is their focus.

Odom said: ``Teams respected us a lot more on the court last year, even if they didn't say it. I know they did. So I think this year, I know the respect will be there.''