There’s No More Secret About Wright

Rookie center Lorenzen Wright, who had a season-best 15 rebounds and 15 points in Saturday night’s 95-93 loss at Minnesota, has surprised Coach Bill Fitch.

When the Clippers drafted Wright, they planned to employ him at forward. But he inherited the starting center position after the Clippers lost Stanley Roberts (back) and Kevin Duckworth (heel).

“The rookie is really the guy that has come the furthest from the standpoint of nowhere land,” Fitch said. “When the season started he was a power forward and small forward. With all the troubles we had at center, somebody had to go in there and he was the nominee.

“We just have one rule, ‘Don’t anyone tell him he’s not a center.’ ”

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Fitch believes his team has more confidence after winning three of five games on a just-concluded nine-day trip.

“We go up through the clouds once in a while and see the blue,” Fitch said. “But we’re still very fragile. We’re winning with a lot of struggle and effort.

“I tell the guys that the two toughest things in this league are dealing with failure and success. Now we’re getting a little success, and we got there because we operate as a team and as long as we keep it up and play with a team value, we can play with almost anyone.”