Chris Kaman

What has gotten into Chris Kaman -- and will it stay there? The Clippers' center has bolted from the gate to a level that has surprised many. After six seasons in which he averaged 10.4 points a game -- including the last two when he was hampered with injuries -- Kaman is averaging 22.6 points a game through the first five games of this season. That included 25 points in the win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, the Clippers' first victory of the season after opening with four losses.

When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio 980, 1220. Records: Clippers 27-21, Hornets 12-36. Record vs. Hornets : 0-1. Update: Chris Paul returned last week to New Orleans to face the team he played with for six seasons. The Clippers lost that game. This time, Chris Kaman and Al-Farouq Aminu, who were traded for Paul in December, return for the first time to L.A. Eric Gordon, also part of the trade, is out with a right knee injury.

Lasting image of a Clippers season: Chris Kaman limping off the court with a sprained left ankle in New Orleans. Kaman's house of pain quickly expanded to a world of hurt for the Clippers, who dropped that game against the Hornets last Tuesday and went on to lose the next night at San Antonio and at home Friday against Detroit. Unfortunately, for Kaman, there is no fast-track healing process for an ankle. "Not really much else I can do ? can't heal it overnight," Kaman said before Monday night's game against the New Jersey Nets.

Reporting from New Orleans — The Clippers lost to the New Orleans Hornets on Thursday night at New Orleans Arena because L.A. failed to execute in the fourth quarter. The Clippers lost to the Hornets, 97-90, because they didn't play defense. New Orleans shot 57.6% from the field. But in the fourth quarter, the Hornets ripped the Clippers defense for 63.6% (seven for 11) shooting. The Clippers were outscored, 21-11, in the fourth and made just 17.4% (four for 23, 0 for 10 from three-point range)

His new footwear, unfortunately, was not a fashion statement. The Clippers' Chris Kaman , who has been limited to 10 games, will have to wear a plastic walking boot for his left foot for at least two weeks, allowing the bone bruise and ligament to heal. And he will be out for a minimum of three weeks. "Let it heal instead of just beating up on it," said Kaman, who will stay behind and rehab the injured ankle when the Clippers travel east Tuesday for a three-game trip. "It had gotten worse from the first MRI to the second MRI. I don't know if I was doing too much.

The premise was that bad individual performances happened to be a fact of life during the treadmill of an 82-game NBA schedule. But, if spaced out judiciously, not quite as noticeable. The Clippers' Chris Kaman didn't let that thought quite get finished. "I've had a nice bunch of them," he said, ruefully. One of the low points was Monday night. Kaman went three for 15 from the field for eight points in an eight-point loss to the Hornets. With each miss, most of them banging off the rim, his frustration level kept rising.

Fantasy-league owners aren't the only ones closely monitoring trade rumors. Long-injured Clippers center Chris Kaman was talking Wednesday about the incessant stream of speculation regarding Carmelo Anthony's eventual destination, joking about the sheer number of players involved. "There's like 25 players, 40 players or something," Kaman said, smiling. "Realistically, it's like 12 or 15. It's just wild. I didn't realize they were going to move Chauncey [ Billups ]

Chris Kaman wants to sleep in his own bed. His ankle hurts and his team has been on the road for two weeks, suffering meltdowns in single-digit locales such as Minnesota and Cleveland. So what transpired Tuesday night at the United Center made it feel like sweet home Chicago for the 7-footer. The Clippers center notched a double-double in his return from a sprained left ankle and helped his team stifle the Chicago Bulls during a 90-82 victory that ended a losing streak at four games.

It used to be land of the giants around the Clippers. Bigs, seemingly everywhere. Naturally, this led to a daily dose of trade rumors. Marcus Camby , now in Portland, was rumored to be on the move almost from the day he joined the Clippers and center Chris Kaman's name seemed to fit nicely into headlines from coast to coast. Now it is down to one giant ( Kaman) and another giant in training ( DeAndre Jordan ). Veterans Jarron Collins and Jake Voskuhl are in the Clippers' training camp on non-guaranteed contracts.

Now, a word, or two, from Chris Kaman . This is almost shaping up as Kaman's (lost) wilderness season as he hasn't played in nearly a month since reinjuring his right ankle at Portland on Dec. 5. To put it bluntly, the Clippers' starting center is not close to rejoining the lineup. "It's a slow progress," Kaman said Sunday. "Since I came back and played and hurt it again, they're probably more wary of me coming back sooner. And they're probably going to make it later.

Reporting from Indianapolis — It's back on the road again for the Clippers, part of their nine games away from Staples Center in March as they play a heavy schedule of 20 games this month. But this stretch of road games has to be considered the most harrowing, challenging and demanding physically and mentally for the Clippers. They will play back-to-back-to-back games for the second time this season — and all are on the road. The Clippers start at the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, then play at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday and finish at the New Orleans Hornets on Thursday.

Five games into the season the Clippers are 3-2, and though that's hardly reason to start clearing space to hang championship banners at Staples Center, it's a significant step for a team that didn't earn its third win last season until its 16th game. These Clippers are fun. They're exciting, from Chris Paul's visionary floor leadership to Blake Griffin's acrobatic dunks and DeAndre Jordan's momentum-changing blocks. Their crowds are lively and involved, loyal for so long and infinitely grateful to have a reason for optimism.

It was hardly the Battle of L.A. That was last week, when Chris Paul ended up with the Clippers instead of their sun-is-always-shining rivals down the hall at Staples Center. Score another one for the Clippers, though, who beat the Lakers in an exhibition opener, 114-95, Monday night. It was a small-scale victory to be remembered by nobody in a week, but the Clippers will take what they can get against the Lakers. PHOTOS: Lakers vs. Clippers They looked younger and hungrier after the long lockout layoff, and they'll get another chance to prove it Wednesday when the teams meet again at Staples Center.

Once Mo Williams took his pride out of it, he was able to come to grips with his plight as a reserve point guard for the Clippers. Williams hadn't spoken with the media since the Clippers acquired Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets last Wednesday and got Chauncey Billups during a waiver auction bid after New York used the "amnesty" provision on the veteran guard. Williams said before the Clippers played the Lakers at Staples Center on Monday night that he needed time to collect his thoughts.

It was superstar, interrupted. Chris Paul couldn't practice with his new team Saturday morning because the trade that brought the point guard from New Orleans to the Clippers had not been finalized, keeping Paul from throwing his first lob to Blake Griffin . "Just watch and wish," Paul said of being on the court with the Clippers. Paul watched his teammates work on plays, took some jump shots and was cleared to participate in evening practice after Chris Kaman passed his physical with the Hornets and the trade was completed.

Chris Paul sat at a table wearing a black suit with a red tie, his eyes bright, a smile on his face, his voice full of hope when he spoke about the future of the Clippers. He mentioned a word that rarely has been uttered around the Clippers franchise — championship. Paul emphasized that point Thursday during his introductory news conference. He had joined the team when the Clippers acquired him from New Orleans on Wednesday for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and the unprotected first-round draft pick they got from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Recent Clippers history, a telling case study in trade rumors. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was said to be going on in the days leading up to the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 24. Then came a rush of phone calls, a puff of smoke from Cleveland and Baron Davis vanished and became a Cavalier. Just like that. This doesn't mean that Clippers' center Chris Kaman will be dealt Thursday — the day of the NBA draft — or that he won't be traded. It just illustrates that trade rumors often start circulating after a deal is dead.

Quarterback and wide receiver. Yin and yang. Actually, Baron Davis and Chris Kaman are more like the guys on one of those ubiquitous political shows on cable TV, talking over each other and even yelling. And, yes, keeping it worth watching . . . for better or worse. On Wednesday night, it was for the better. Kaman and Davis combined for 36 points in the Clippers' 120-95 rout of the Timberwolves at the Target Center. Of course, there were many more dimensions to the 25-point victory.

The hot-and-cold discussions involving All-Star guard Chris Paul coming to the Clippers took a turn toward the tepid, as the NBA reached out Tuesday. The league, which has taken over the talks from New Orleans Hornets General Manager Dell Demps, initiated phone conversations with the Clippers on Tuesday afternoon, said a person who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, although no proposals were exchanged. The NBA, which operates the Hornets, refused to move off its position of wanting Eric Gordon and the Clippers' No. 1 unprotected draft pick they got from the Minnesota Timberwolves, the person said.

All right, NBA. What have you done with Donald Sterling? As Los Angeles sports fans, we have a right to the security and comfort of the known. Death, taxes and Clippers incompetence are the axioms by which we live. Pretty soon, somebody will tell us that the Angels have Albert Pujols and the Dodgers' most important player is a hard-hitting bankruptcy judge. Nah, couldn't happen. The Clippers have completed a deal that brings Chris Paul into their backcourt. This guy isn't just a point guard.