MORE THAN ALTITUDE AILING KAMAN.

Byline: JOE STEVENS Staff Writer

DENVER - Chris Kaman sprained his right ankle in Game 2, and he's complained about adjusting to the altitude every time he's been in the city.

Then Saturday, his health became even worse. He was unable to attend the team's morning shoot-around because of a viral infection and received multiple IVs before the game.

Kaman was on the team's active list for Game 4, but it wasn't certain if he would be available until less than an hour before tipoff. Vladimir Radmanovic took his place in the starting lineup.

On Friday, which happened to be Kaman's 24th birthday, he said: "I can't get over this stupid altitude, man. Coming here just tears me up. My nose is dry. My hands are dry. It's crazy."

On Saturday, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy laughed at Kaman's theory that it was the altitude that was making him feel badly.

"I think his premonition of coming to Denver, thinking it had to do with altitude, was a little more of something else," Dunleavy said. "He had the onset of a virus coming that he didn't know about. He played hard with it the other night and was hit hard with it (Friday). He's miserable right now."

Before Game 4, Dunleavy said he wasn't sure what he would get out of his center, if anything. He mentioned Zeljko Rebraca, Radmanovic and Walter McCarty as candidates for more playing time.

Even though Kaman had just two points and four rebounds and was ailing in Game 3, the coach said he would play Kaman on Saturday if he were available.

"The other night, without him being up to par, you still like to have him out there from a defensive standpoint with the space he takes up and what he does for us," Dunleavy said.

--No expectations: It is no secret that Game 3 was closely officiated, with 68 total fouls being called, 40 on the Clippers. That meant a foul was whistled an average of every 42.3 seconds during the 48-minute game.

Heading into Game 4, Dunleavy said: "Basically, you got to adjust to the officiating. You start out the game, and you see how it is. You make that read and go from there."

In the NBA, three officials call each game, but the grouping of those three varies each game. One idea that has often circulated is that it would be better to have the officials stay in teams of three, which might clue coaches in on what to expect from game to game.

"That's one of the things over the years I always kind of thought (they should do), stay together as a group, maybe," Dunleavy said. "You might be able to get a better feel of how the group calls a game."

--Not a little assignment: Shaun Livingston, the Clippers' 20-year-old point guard, has had a "terrific" series, according to Dunleavy. Part of the reason for that praise is that the 6-foot-7 guard has played solid defense against 5-foot-5 Earl Boykins, the smallest man in the NBA.

Livingston said there isn't any other player he's guarded who is comparable to Boykins.

"There's not really anybody," Livingston said. "There's just not. There might be a couple guys that are a few inches taller. But when talking about as explosive (as he is), when he can score and everything else, you got to think about Allen Iverson."

Livingston isn't the only Clipper who's defended Boykins, a former Clipper. Defensive stopper Quinton Ross also has spent some time on him.

"We have two guys on our team who can guard Boykins," Dunleavy said. "Most teams don't have one."

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Clippers center Chris Kaman is suffering from a sprained righ t ankle and a viral infection, which has limited his production in the Clippers' Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer