Eric Gordon

Maybe it's because he has four youngsters ? all boys ? that Mo Williams has made a nearly seamless transition, crossing over from glory days and despair in Cleveland straight into the cartoon-watching, video game-playing Clippers' locker room. The Clippers are 4-1 since Williams stepped on the court, making his debut in Sacramento on Feb. 28. That doesn't tell the whole story: Two victories, and most of the third one, were without injured shooting guard Eric Gordon. Not only have the Clippers struggled in a major way whenever Gordon has been absent in the last two seasons, they were even more confounded on the road this season.

When: 6:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio 980,1220. Records: Clippers 39-24, Hornets 20-43. Record vs. Hornets : 1-1. Update: The Clippers had their five-game winning streak snapped Thursday night at Phoenix. New Orleans' Eric Gordon, the former Clipper who was a part of the Chris Paul trade, is healthy after missing most of the season following right knee surgery. Gordon is available to play against the Clippers for the first time since the trade was made.

After nearly every baseline cut, Clippers guard Eric Gordon penetrated, squared up to the basket and swished a three-point shot. By sinking five consecutive three-pointers in one segment during his 20-minute shooting session following Thursday's practice, a remote control was not necessary to replay his shooting stroke. With Gordon absent for nine of the last 12 games, his shooting clinic provided a reminder of what the Clippers have been sorely lacking. Aside from his 18.1 points per game and play-making abilities, the Clippers (8-11)

The New Orleans Hornets are down to eight players because of injuries and personal reasons, but it didn't stop them from giving the Lakers a rough first half. The Lakers lead the Hornets at halftime, 43-39, after losing most of a 14-point lead. Kobe Bryant was scoreless in the first half, missing all seven of his shots. Pau Gasol had 14 points and six rebounds. The Hornets (13-38) have the worst record in the Western Conference. The Lakers (31-20) are coming off a 102-93 home loss to Oklahoma City.

The Clippers make one trip to Indianapolis in the regular season, just as they made a lone appearance, recently, in Oklahoma City. Call it an unfair quirk of the basketball schedule, which is severely messing with the homecoming hoop plans of the Clippers' youngsters. It'll be next season before Oklahoma City fans get to see native son Blake Griffin , who is out because of a stress fracture of his left kneecap. Folks in Indiana are hoping it won't be the same with Clippers shooting guard Eric Gordon , who has not played since Nov. 7. He missed seven consecutive games because of a strained groin and was on the active roster in Monday's four-point win against Minnesota but did not play.

As the Clippers start a six-game trip tonight, one question is whether they can again count on consistent offense from Eric Gordon . The second-year shooting guard matched his season high with 29 points Monday night that helped propel the Clippers to a 97-95 win over the Washington Wizards. It was only Gordon's seventh appearance in the Clippers' last 16 games. He sat out eight games last month because of a sore left groin and one game early this month because of a sore left hamstring.

The Clippers, namely Brian Skinner and Ricky Davis , were teasing 21-year-old Eric Gordon the other day before their game at New Orleans. Topic: Gordon's youth. They were talking about breaking into the league in the 1998-99 season and asking Gordon where he was back then. "Elementary school?" Well, yes. That was reinforced when Gordon was holding court Friday about his surprise inclusion in the NBA's dunk-in competition. He said his favorite NBA dunk contest was the one in 2000, the epic involving Vince Carter and Steve Francis . Ah, youth.

Momentum is an elusive quality for the Clippers, one that seems to slip away at the first hint of a positive development. The franchise gets the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft . . . only to watch Blake Griffin go down before the season opener because of a serious knee injury. They take solace in the presence of Eric Gordon . . . until the second-year shooting guard is sidelined for eight games because of a sore left groin. They win four of five games in late November and get Gordon back . . . only to lose him again because of a sore left hamstring.

Clippers fans have fallen madly in love with the guy who plays like Hollywood. Me, I also like the guy who plays like Hoosiers. Clippers fans stare at the player whose surreal dunks thunder down from the heavens. Me, I'm also checking out the player whose layups were born against an Indiana garage door. Clippers fans begin every game focused on Blake Griffin but, like me, I'm guessing they end every game watching Eric Gordon. "I've kind of been in the shadows a little bit," he said with a grin.

Something got in the way of the great double-double duel. Eric Gordon. Sure, the marquee lure/draw of Monday night's game at Staples Center was the NBA's double-double leaders -- the Clippers' Blake Griffin vs. Minnesota's Kevin Love. Griffin, naturally, did not disappoint with his usual array of dunks and muscled his way to his 16th consecutive double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Love had his 24th double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Some things to watch when the Lakers (31-20) host the New Orleans Hornets (13-38) at 12:30 p.m. PDT today at Staples Center. 1. The Lakers need a psychological pick-me-up. A victory over the Western Conference's worst team won't solve the Lakers' problems. They're just coming off a week that wasn't much fun for the purple and gold. The Lakers' loss Sunday to Memphis included the team getting outworked and the Kobe Bryant benching controversy. They topped that off with a middling road win against Golden State that featured Andrew Bynum getting benched for taking an ill-advised three-pointer.

Kobe Bryant missed 18 of 21 shots but made an important one to help the Lakers beat the severely undermanned New Orleans Hornets, 88-85, Saturday at Staples Center. Bryant drilled a three-pointer over Jarrett Jack with 20.2 seconds to play to give the Lakers the lead for good, 86-85. He missed his first 15 shots of the game and did not makes his first basket until a 17-footer with 7:30 left in the fourth quarter. He set two personal records for inaccuracy. He never missed more than 13 consecutive shots in any game and never missed more than 11 shots to start a game until Saturday.

Blake Griffin plays a physical game, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro admits, but Griffin has been pushed around by opponents. At some point, it was suggested to Del Negro, it would seem the 6-foot-10, 251-pound Griffin has to stand up for himself. Just last Thursday night, New Orleans Hornets forward Jason Smith shoved Griffin to the court. Smith was issued a flagrant-two foul, ejected from the game and was suspended two games by the NBA. Smith missed his final game against the Clippers on Monday night.

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.

The Clippers have been in need of a big shooting guard, of a more consistent scorer in the starting lineup, of something to replace what Chauncey Billups gave them before he went down with a season-ending left Achilles' tendon injury. The Clippers knew it would be nearly impossible to replace all that Billups brought, but they were at least able to add size and a quality scorer with the acquisition of Washington Wizards guard Nick Young in a three-team trade minutes before Thursday's trade deadline.

Neil Olshey has listened to everyone clamoring for the Clippers to make a move before Thursday's noon (PST) trade deadline in an attempt to stop the team's current slide. The Clippers' vice president of basketball operations has heard from his coaching staff, the team's fans and media, all of them stressing the need to acquire a player in the wake of Chauncey Billups' season-ending Achilles' tendon injury that appears to have shaken the team. Olshey is making and taking phone calls from other general managers.

Eric Gordon eased his way into the Clippers' training facility Wednesday, his first day there since the NBA lifted the lockout and allowed players to work out at team sites. He talked about the high expectations the Clippers have and how he supports Mo Williams' and Blake Griffin's saying they will be in the playoffs this season. Gordon also talked about the business of basketball, specifically the contract extension he's seeking. The guard is in the final year of a contract that was supposed to pay him $3.8 million before the NBA shortened the season to 66 games.

Next time anyone on the Clippers says anything about being healthy, they would be wise to knock on some wood. Their last three days were a celebration, practically, as the Clippers finally had enough physically sound bodies on the bench. The return of leading scorer Eric Gordon sparked that merriment but it ended Saturday against Denver when Gordon aggravated the right wrist injury that forced him to miss 18 games recently. Gordon hit the floor hard late in the second quarter of the 100-94 win in front of 19,060 at Staples Center after being fouled by Denver center Timofey Mozgov and Gordon did not return.

Reporting from Orlando -- The smile on Kenyon Martin's face said a lot. Martin had just joined the Clippers for practice Sunday in Orlando — he didn't take part in the session, however — two days after he signed a contract to play for team. Both Martin and Coach Vinny Del Negro said there is no timetable for him to play in a game, but Martin said he'd like to be in uniform playing before the team finishes a six-game, 10-day trip that continues Monday night against the Orlando Magic.