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.

WOULD RATHER PLAY THROUGH ALL-STAR BREAK 1. MIAMI (28-12) LeBron James seeks 10-day contract for 50-year-old who made halfcourt shot. (3) 2. OKLAHOMA CITY (34-10) Sounds of season-long trip include cowbells of Sacramento, alarm bells of L.A. (1) 3. SAN ANTONIO (36-11) Coach Gregg Popovich might irk All-Stars by demanding effort. (4) 4. CLIPPERS (32-13) What does a coach have to do around here to get a contract extension? (2) SHOULD BE WELL-REPRESENTED IN HOUSTON 5. NEW YORK (26-15)

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.

Clippers VS. DALLAS When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket, ESPN; Radio: 980. Records: Clippers 27-8, Mavericks 13-22. Record vs. Mavericks: 1-0. Update: It has been a woeful season for Dallas, particularly on the road, where it has a 5-15 record. Dirk Nowitzki has played six games since returning from knee surgery and has started the last two, scoring 20 points in each. Ex-Clipper Chris Kaman is averaging 13.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Mavericks.

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.

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.

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.

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 ]

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.

Records through Friday's games Top of the Pops 1. Miami (7-3) - Amazing how Dwyane Wade seems to get older after losses, younger after wins. (1) 2. San Antonio (7-2) - Maybe we should call it Top of the Pop(ovich). One spot away. (2) 3. Memphis (7-1) - Fastbreaking, not walking, in Memphis. Grizzlies first to beat Knicks. (6) 4. Oklahoma City (7-3) - Kendrick, never take on someone (Randolph) with dogs named Gucci & Prada. (3) 5. Clippers (6-2) - Four-game trip features first venture out of the cozy Pacific time zone.

NBA free agency is slowing to a crawl. So where does that leave the Western Conference roughly three months before the season opener? The Lakers and Clippers made moves to improve themselves, but will they be enough to eclipse the potential dynasty of the Oklahoma City Thunder? Here's an early look at moves made by last season's playoff teams and whether they set them up to be better or worse in 2012-13: San Antonio Spurs Key additions: Nando de Colo. Key losses: None.

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)

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.

Marcus Camby saw a reporter approach Chris Kaman inside the Target Center on Thursday afternoon and preempted the first question with one of his own. "Chris, did you make it?" Camby yelled to his Clippers teammate seated across the floor. Apprised by Kaman that the center had not been selected as an All-Star reserve, Camby uttered an expletive and told Kaman he had been robbed. Kaman seemed resigned to his fate -- All-Star reserves were announced Thursday -- saying his case for selection by Western Conference coaches was hurt by the Clippers' sub-.

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.