CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK: ODOM, TEAM LEARNING AT FAST CLIP.

Byline: Sean Kearns Staff Writer

PALM DESERT - The Clippers might be Lamar Odom's team this season, but in training camp the 6-foot-10 forward has tried blending in with the team - focusing on learning the offense and his new teammates.

``I'm still learning the system,'' Odom said Friday. ``Sometimes there are plays where I feel I could have broke my man down but I want to hold it so I can read the defense and see what is going on the weak side. We've got a whole 82 games for me to be really assertive.''

Odom sat out the last part of practice Friday at College of the Desert with tendinitis in his left quadriceps. Coach Alvin Gentry gave the team the afternoon off after three days of two-a-day practices.

Gentry has said Odom will be the focus of the team. So far, Odom likes the offense.

``I'm moving without the ball a lot more,'' Odom said. ``I'm catching the ball on the move. That helps out a lot.''

The biggest challenge about learning the new system has been learning his teammates.

``Learning basketball comes easy to me but this is new to all of us,'' Odom said. ``This is the first time I could ever think there are 10 new guys on the same team. Some of us are back from last year but everything is different.''

--A Miles adventure: Darius Miles showed his upside and what he needs to learn as the Clippers began scrimmaging Thursday.

Early on, the 18-year-old rookie was confused on offense and Gentry stopped the scrimmage to tell Miles to slow down.

Later, Miles poked a ball away from Odom on defense and went in for a dunk. Miles led the Clippers in Thursday's scrimmage with eight points.

``Starting off I was kind of mad and angry and then after that I started playing all right,'' Miles said.

Gentry went vinyl, comparing Miles to a 45 record playing on 78 speed.

``He'll slow down but he did a lot of great things,'' Gentry said.

--Slowing down: Gentry spent much of his time early in training camp trying to calm his team down. After the first scrimmage Thursday, Gentry said players were not waiting for their reads on offense.

The pace slowed Friday.

``What we tried to do is break things down and slow down a step or two and let things develop,'' Gentry said. ``I thought they did a real, real good job of that. It was our best practice by far.''

--Odds and ends: Gentry plans to give the rookies plenty of playing time once the Clippers open their exhibition season Wednesday in Phoenix. He said he'll give players time in large chunks rather than short spurts to allow them to get into the flow of the game. . . . The suspended Keith Closs went to have more tests of his physical condition at an athletic training facility Friday. . . . Individual Clippers game tickets go on sale beginning today. Tickets are available through Staples Center and Ticketmaster.