CLIPPERS ANALYSIS: RE-START : THE CLIPPERS HOPE TO BEGIN FRESH IN 1999.Byline: Randy Hill In the bygone daze of Bill Fitch William Fitch (born May 19 1934 in Davenport, Iowa) is a former NBA coach who has been successful in making teams playoff contenders throughout his coaching career. Before entering the professional ranks he coached college ball at the University of Minnesota, Bowling Green State , what a Clippers player didn't know could hurt his feelings. ``It wasn't that easy communicating with coach Fitch,'' said center/forward Lorenzen Wright Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright (born November 4 1975) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. After being selected seventh overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1996 NBA Draft out of the University of Memphis, the 6'11" (2. . ``Sometimes, if guys didn't know something and it meant asking him, they'd decide they'd rather not know the answer.'' How much difference can a year and new coach Chris Ford Christopher Joseph Ford (born January 11, 1949 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA) is a former professional basketball player and head coach. A 6' 5" (1.96 m) guard from Villanova University, he played ten seasons (1972-1982) in the NBA as a member of the Detroit Pistons and Boston make? Part of the answer will be revealed tonight at the Sports Arena, where Ford and the Clippers open their 50-game season against the Phoenix Suns. ``I don't have a real gauge,'' said Ford, who has 10 players returning from last year's team that finished 17-65. ``They've been great at accepting what we've been teaching. But they have to stay on this page. If they stay on this page and do the things we've been working on, our chances of winning will certainly be better.'' Ford, who played for Fitch in Boston, has taken a page from his predecessor's manual on relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc young players, ripped it from the text and started over. ``He's made a big difference in generating the enthusiasm we have,'' said point guard Darrick Martin Darrick David Martin (born March 6, 1971 in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American professional basketball player, currently with the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Martin has became known as a solid veteran who provided quality minutes as a reserve, maintaining a career free . ``He's much better at communicating with the players. He'll tell you exactly what he expects from you.'' Communicating is one thing, talent to make the playoffs is another. Sure, they exhibited enough requisite pluck and long-term wisdom to draft 7-foot rookie Michael Olowokandi Michael Olowokandi (born April 3 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria), nicknamed The Kandi Man is a Nigerian professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. He currently is a free agent. . Small forward Lamond Murray Lamond Maurice Murray (April 20 1973 in Pasadena, California, U.S.) is an American former professional basketball player who last played with the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. appears primed for big numbers in the last season on his contract. Second-year forward Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player at the power forward position. He was most recently with the NBA's Sacramento Kings, released on January 23, 2007. is a powerhouse with star and highlight-reel potential. Another robust forward, Rodney Rogers Rodney Ray Rogers (born June 20, 1971, in Durham, North Carolina) is a retired American basketball player who last played power forward for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Rogers played college basketball at Wake Forest University from 1990 until 1993. , arrived for training camp with offensive-line potential but continues to drop surplus weight and should be productive. The aforementioned Wright provides considerable bang for the buck at both low-post positions, rookie Brian Skinner Brian Skinner (born May 19 1976 in Temple, Texas) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Phoenix Suns of the NBA. A 6'9", 265 lbs. forward-center from Baylor University, Skinner was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round (22nd could be Charles Oakley Charles Oakley (born December 18, 1963 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a retired American professional basketball player who played power forward in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards and Houston on training wheels and undrafted rookie Tyrone Nesby has a knack for the spectacular. So . . . the frontcourt is worth watching. But the backcourt could go directly to cable. Here's the roll call: Martin, Pooh Richardson, Eric Piatkowski, James ``Hollywood'' Robinson and Charles ``Spider'' Smith. Each is a legitimate NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= player and quality citizen, but there's not an all-star threat in the bunch. Martin and shooting guard Piatkowski are expected to start tonight. ``I know there's a lot of negative talk about our backcourt,'' Ford said, ``but if they do the things we're trying to do, we'll be fine.'' What else can the man say? Well, he can say the arrival of free-agent point guard Sherman Douglas will, at least, perk up the offense. Douglas, who played for Ford in Boston and Milwaukee, is a nine-year veteran with passing and leadership skills. He's not much of a shooter or defender but was the best playmaker play·mak·er n. A player in a sport with goals, such as a guard in basketball, who initiates offensive plays. play available. ``Sherman is a very fierce competitor,'' Ford said. ``He knows how to play the game.'' And Ford knows how to coach. In seven seasons, his teams are 291-283. Last year in Milwaukee, he possessed an extremely talented starting lineup, but the disparity between it and his bench was too much to overcome after three starters were injured. Ford plans to increase the tempo in L.A., because the Clippers have several fine athletes with comparable skills. ``They (players) said they wanted to run,'' Ford said, ``so here's their chance.'' Since Murray and Taylor might be the only Clippers who can create a scoring opportunity after an offensive set is blown up, Ford might attempt to generate points from his defense. Much of training camp was spent teaching his new team to bait the opposition into a gauntlet of traps. And young legs will help. The abundance of forward talent will enable Ford to spread precious minutes during the more brutal stretches of the condensed con·dense v. con·densed, con·dens·ing, con·dens·es v.tr. 1. To reduce the volume or compass of. 2. To make more concise; abridge or shorten. 3. Physics a. schedule. Olowokandi should provide an inside presence and flexibility, allowing Wright to match up against the ruffian power forwards in the Western Conference. Murray, the early choice as team MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. , can swing to shooting guard when Ford feels like using his brawnier lineup. With a move to the Staples Center on the horizon, the Clippers seem to be on a minor roll. Ford, if given time, could produce a winner. Olowokandi, Taylor, Skinner, Wright and Murray represent solid choices on draft day. The next order of business is patience. ``This team still has to find its identity,'' Ford said. Good idea. The old ID rarely has taken the Clippers past the NBA's playoff bouncers. THE NBA TODAY Today's opening-day schedule: Houston at Lakers, 7:30 p.m. (TNT/FSW) Phoenix at Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Washington at Indiana, 4 p.m. Cleveland at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Charlotte, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at Boston, 5 p.m. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of at Orlando, 5 p.m. (TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. ) Sacramento at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota at Denver, 6 p.m. Chicago at Utah, 6 p.m. Dallas at Seattle, 7 p.m. 1999 CLIPPERS No. Player Years 1 Scott Brooks 11 33 Keith Closs 1 20 Sherman Douglas 9 15 Darrick Martin 4 7 Lamond Murray 4 8 Tyrone Nesby R 34 Michael OlowokandiR 52 Eric Platkowski 4 24 Pooh Richardson 8 26 James Robinson 5 54 Rodney Rogers 5 32 Brian Skinner R 5 Charles Smith 1 23 Maurice Taylor 1 11 Stojko Vrankovic 4 55 Lorenzen Wright 2 Head Coach - Chris Ford Assistant Coach - Jim Brewer Assistant Coach - Jim Todd Trainer - Ray Melchiorre CLIPPERS vs. PHOENIX Time: 7:30 p.m. at the Sports Arena. TV/Radio: No TV; KXTA 1150/AM. Tickets: Good seats available; (213) 745-0500. Matchups: The Clippers, who are threatening to run, are wary of initiating a track meet with the Suns. Phoenix averaged 116.5 points per game in two exhibition wins over Dallas, and has one of the league's busiest floor leaders in Jason Kidd. Newly acquired Clippers point guard Sherman Douglas probably won't be ready to provide much help against Kidd. The Suns, who had just four players under contract when training camp opened, have added two starters in 6-foot-10 forward Tom Gugliotta (Minnesota) and 7-2 center Luc Longley (Chicago). Cliff Robinson (6-11) also figures to start, with 6-10 Danny Manning, the former No. 1 pick of the Clippers, defending his title as the NBA's top sixth man. Manning is coming off his third major knee surgery. The Clippers do have the bulk to match Phoenix in Lorenzen Wright, Lamond Murray, Maurice Taylor, Rodney Rogers and rookie Michael Olowokandi. Suns shooting guard Rex Chapman might miss the game with a hamstring injury hamstring injury Sports medicine A muscle injury of biceps femoris, seen in sprinters and runners, when a contracted muscle meets a lengthening force, overpowering intrinsic muscle resiliency Management RICE, NSAIDs, gradual ↑ of pain-free activity–eg, , creating minutes for Toby Bailey, the rookie from UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . - Randy Hill CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, 3 Boxes Photo: (1--Color) New Clippers coach Chris Ford has instilled a new attitude and installed a faster-paced attack and a trapping defense this season. Victoria Arocho/Associated Press (2--Color) Clippers center Michael Olowokandi (right) will make his long-awaited debut tonight against Phoenix at the Sports Arena. The game against the Suns is one of 12 games on the NBA's opening day 1999. (3) Second-year forward Maurice Taylor is one reason why the Clippers are happy with their athletic and versatile frontline players. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News Box: (1) THE NBA TODAY (See text) (2) 1999 CLIPPERS (See text) (3) CLIPPERS vs. PHOENIX (See text) |
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