Ford Is Practicing Patience With His Shooting Guards

Eric Piatkowski played 40 minutes and made one of nine shots in the two exhibition games against the Lakers over the weekend. Not the production a coach would want from his shooting guard.

Clipper Coach Chris Ford, however, is not worried about Piatkowski because he knows what it’s like to be a player who needs help from his teammates to get involved in the offense. Ford was that type of player over his 10-year NBA career and he had his best seasons when he played with the Boston Celtics’ dominant frontcourt trio of Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Larry Bird.

“I talked to Pike [Sunday],” Ford said. “I wasn’t discouraged that he really didn’t get into his rhythm the first two games. We didn’t have the inside game that we’re going to have [with the addition of Michael Olowokandi and a healthy Maurice Taylor].

“I told him that he plays the game like I played the game. I lived off what the other guys could do. [Former Clipper Nate] ‘Tiny’ Archibald’s penetration. Kevin, Robert and Larry’s double teams. When those guys were double-teamed, I moved to the open spot. I wasn’t a guy who created my own shot. Pike has something special [shooting]. He’ll spread the defense.”

Piatkowski is in his final contract year and is coming off his best season when he averaged 11.3 points and shot 45%. His numbers were considerably better when the Clippers had Ike Austin in the middle and Ford is hoping that will be the case with Olowokandi and Taylor in the lineup.

James Robinson has split time with Piatkowski throughout training camp and after a miserable zero-for-seven shooting night on Friday, he bounced back by making half of eight shots and finished with 13 points Saturday.

Ford acknowledges that the 6-foot-2 Robinson is a little undersized at match up defensively against some shooting guards but plans to take advantage of the streaky shooter’s quickness and ability to produce points as much as he can.

“A coach’s job is to play to [his team’s] strengths. Size is something that we don’t have when we go to Hollywood [Robinson],” Ford said. “But there are some other things that he does well and there are some things that we can do defensively so we can buy time out there. He’s very very explosive. If he has that hot hand, he’s tough. When he’s out there, I have to see if he’s hot. Get him some early touches and see if he can hit.”

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In four days, Lamond Murray will begin his fifth season as a Clipper, which is enough reason to not get too excited about the recent practice additions of Olowokandi and Taylor.

“It’s all good in practice, but a lot of things go unnoticed [where] there’s a lot of fouling going on,” Murray said. “You really don’t know how good a person really is or how good our team really is until we transfer it over to the game court. I can’t really say right now until we start playing for real.

Murray has been impressed with the toughness the Clippers’ inside game has shown since Olowokandi and Taylor began to practice together but he’s still cautious.

“It’s good to see big guys inside blocking shots, putting guys on their butts in practice,” Murray said. “But in the games, it’s another story. We have [to start doing] the same things we do in practice in the games.”

Clipper Notes

Guard Scott Brooks had an MRI exam done on his right knee and the results were negative. His injury is listed as a strained knee and he’s expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks. . . . Center Stojko Vrankovic returned to practice Monday after missing a day because of a lower back strain. . . . The Clippers’ free two-hour scrimmage will begin at 7 p.m. at the Sports Arena.