Marcus Camby

Question of the day: If there is a collision involving Craig Smith and another player, who usually ends up walking away untouched? Smith. And if the Clippers didn't know the answer to that question before Smith arrived back home in Los Angeles, well, it hasn't taken them long to find out. "He's a bull," said Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy. In fact, Smith's nickname is "the Rhino," but you get the general idea. Apparently "the Rhino" was a creation from Smith's days with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Look at it this way: The Clippers' training staff and Coach Mike Dunleavy are going to get in excellent shape if the first few days of camp are any indication. How so? Chasing after rookie and No. 1 draft pick Blake Griffin , who supposedly is limited in camp because of his injured left knee. "He's a guy you can't keep off the court," teammate Marcus Camby said after practice Thursday. "I mean, he's not supposed to be shooting and you've got Jasen [ Powell ]

Introductions to the league were made by Mr. Carlos Boozer and his sidekick, Mr. Paul Millsap. Utah Jazz basketball is always going to be a physical go, and it was just another rugged chapter around the basket in the early education of Clippers rookie Blake Griffin. "He [Boozer] was tough. I got caught under there several times and he killed me," Griffin said after the Clippers' 103-96 victory over the Jazz on Saturday night at Staples Center. "They do a lot of the vet stuff.

It's not exactly true that Marcus Camby is the Last Clipper Standing, although there aren't many of them. Of course, there are none like him, with the Clippers or anyone else. At 34, chained to a team that started the weekend 8-30, he has just moved ahead of 23-year-old Dwight Howard for the league lead in rebounds and is No. 2 to him in blocked shots.

Marcus Camby was treated great by the fans in his return to Denver. Not by his former teammates. After getting a rousing ovation and a hug from a little girl sitting courtside who was wearing one of his old Nuggets jerseys, Camby watched Nene and Renaldo Balkman each post a double-double in Denver's 107-94 win over the Clippers on Saturday night.