Clippers update: Dark clouds hovering

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Where do we start? Well, Brian Skinner is starting.

The pregame news was not good and got worse for the Clippers today. In a few minutes or so, they will take the court against Toronto, dealing with the likes of 6-11 Jermaine O’Neal and 6-10 Chris Bosh without Marcus Camby.

Camby took part in the morning shoot-around but had to leave the team to attend to a personal matter. He is not expected to be gone for an extended period, and the Clippers don’t play again until Sunday against Dallas.

Then there’s reserve rookie point guard Mike Taylor, who fractured his right thumb on Friday against Indiana. It turns out he will be sidelined longer than previously thought, requiring surgery Tuesday and will miss about eight weeks.

This, of course, led to the usual questions about the black clouds hanging over this beleaguered Clipper franchise.

‘There’s certain situations you have no control over. They are what they are,’ Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy said. ‘I’m not a believer in the black cloud....’

Dunleavy continued the thought, addressing Times columnist T.J. Simers.

‘I look at it this way, there can be no bigger black cloud than having you cover our team,’ he said.

For the record, Dunleavy was smiling.

-- Lisa Dillman