Clippers Coach

The Clipper players certainly feel the harshness of management's treatment of fellow players. The same harsh treatment is now being applied to the Clippers' coach. It has a definite effect on player, coach and, above all, fans. Donald Sterling and his wrecking crew need help. Maybe they can contact the Dodger and Raider owners and ask for lessons on how to run a professional sports team. GEORGE B. PARKS Los Angeles

Reporting from Salt Lake City — It was like being at the hospital, listening to Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro give medical updates on his team. Chris Paul remains day-to-day after he missed his second straight game because of a strained left hamstring. Mo Williams shot before Tuesday night's game, a 108-79 loss to the Jazz, but the backup point guard missed his third straight game because of a sore right foot. Brian Cook didn't play in his second straight game because of a sprained ankle, and guard Eric Bledsoe , who hasn't played all season (right knee surgery)

Sam Bowie is probably best known for being drafted ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft. Bowie was chosen by Portland with the second overall pick, one spot ahead of Jordan. Bowie broke his left leg in 1985 and had, at best, a disappointing NBA career. Jordan went on the become the greatest player in NBA history. Bowie missed two seasons at Kentucky because of leg injuries but had a strong final season. Of course, if the Trail Blazers had known the day of the draft that Bowie still had a bum leg, they never would have taken him. But who knew?

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - As the basketball found its way into the hands of Lamar Odom , all of his Clippers' teammates stood up from the bench and yelled, "Hit that three, 'L.O.'" And he did, knocking down a three-pointer in the fourth quarter of the Clippers' victory over Milwaukee on Saturday night that was another encouraging sign for Odom and the Clippers. Then Odom got back on defense and took a charge. "I see you, Christ the King," Grant Hill yelled from the bench, smiling, referring to Odom's high school in Queens, N.Y. And just like that, on back-to-back plays, Odom's teammates saw him display the multiple skills they had all seen before.

Join our live Google+ Hangout today at 11:45 a.m. when Times Lakers reporter Mike Bresnahan and Clippers reporter Brad Turner discuss their respective teams. The Clippers are suddenly the dominant team in L.A., currently riding a franchise-record 14-game winning streak. As Turner wrote earlier this week, "This winning streak has delivered the Clippers to a place few could have imagined. "The Clippers have the best record in the NBA . "To repeat, the Clippers have the best record in the entire NBA. "They got to this 22-6 record by extending their franchise-best winning streak to 14 consecutive games, a 112-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night at Staples Center another of the wins along the way. "The victory allowed the Clippers to move a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City (21-6)

There was excitement in Eric Bledsoe's voice. Bledsoe was excited because the sore left calf muscle that kept him out of the Clippers' last five games didn't give him any pain when he was finally able to practice Friday. He wasn't ready to declare himself ready to play Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets at Staples Center, saying that "I want to" and that "we'll see. " Officially, the Clippers said Bledsoe is a game-time decision. "Yeah, I'm feeling good," Bledsoe said.

He has played in only two games so far, but Reggie Evans already has had an effect on the Clippers. They have seen his energy, effort and intensity. They have seen how hard he works on defense and rebounding, two areas in which the Clippers would like to improve. Evans is averaging 6.5 rebounds a game in 17.5 minutes, and he's still trying to work himself into basketball shape after missing five games recovering from a sprained right foot. "Reggie is constant energy," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said before Wednesday's game against Miami.

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.

When so little went right -- as it did for the Clippers and their fans last season -- the temptation is to go overboard when there are the slightest signs of promise. The incumbent Chris Kaman , veteran of those flickers, urged caution after back-to-back exhibition wins and a fresh air of hope in Clippers' training camp. It took one word to get that thought across: Fresno. "Don't read into it so much," Kaman said Tuesday after practice. "It's basketball. See how it goes.

The hitch is not in Blake Griffin's giddy-up, but in his shooting motion. Just as the Clippers' star forward is about to release the ball, he pauses, a hiccup he has tried to stop by working with the team's new shooting coach, Bob Thate . During warmups before the Clippers' 106-104 exhibition loss against Denver on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Griffin's shooting release looked smoother than before. But during the game, the holdup in his release reappeared when Griffin went to the free-throw line, where he shot 52% last season.