CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK: WHY THE MISSES? ANSWER IS TALL TALE.

Byline: Randy Hill

Lamond Murray, the Clippers' 6-foot-7 forward, shot just 37 percent from the floor in his team's first six games.

Several of his rim-busters have been delivered while fading away, a difficult maneuver that makes a bit of sense when Murray's small-forward foes are measured. The four primary defenders he's faced are 6-foot-11 Cliff Robinson of Phoenix, Minnesota's 7-foot Kevin Garnett, 6-11 Toni Kukoc of Chicago and Vancouver's 6-9 Shareef Abdul-Rahim.

``That's how the league is,'' said Murray of matching up the oxymoron of big small forwards. ``In those cases, you have to use your quickness. I've been getting some good looks, but having to shoot over the taller (players) does bother you a little bit.''

Murray figures to have some trajectory relief over the next several games. He started at shooting guard against Dallas on Saturday and the expected matchup was 6-7 Mavericks guard Michael Finley. He also figured to be isolated with Dallas' small forward, Cedric Ceballos, who is a more reasonable 6-7.

On this week's schedule is Monday's matchup with 6-7 Bryon Russell of Utah and a pair of showdowns with 6-7 Kobe Bryant of the Lakers.

Going gets tougher: The Clippers managed to lose their first six games to teams that check in with a combined record of 15-18 through Friday's action.

Saturday's foe, the mighty Dallas Mavericks, began their third game in four nights with a gaudy mark of 1-8. The Clippers, by the way, defeated the Mavericks in three of their four meetings last season.

And now, the bad news: The Clippers' next four opponents have a combined record of 22-12.

Familiar faces: With two of the Clippers' point guards calling UCLA alma mater, the appearance of Maverick Robert Pack added a bit of instant rivalry. Pack, Dallas' backup point guard, played at USC and had many heroic moments in the good ol' Sports Arena.

Starting ahead of Pack is Steve Nash, who also went to SC - Santa Clara.

Nash, who signed a six-year, $33 million contract before the start of the season, made only 17 of his first 61 field-goal attempts in a Mavericks uniform. In his last three games, Nash has rallied to make 17 of 26 shots.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) MURRAY

(2) PACK