Clippers remain focused despite new attention
Three elaborate makeshift photo shoot setups dotted corners of the Clippers’ practice facility in Playa Vista on Friday; in the other, there was a TV interview set.
And after practice, Coach Vinny Del Negro gabbed with reporters while, to his right, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul stood back to back in game uniforms, heeding orders of a snap-happy photographer.
There’s far more fervor around the Clippers, and their stars, than in recent memory, but Del Negro does not think it will have an adverse effect.
“If it’s warranted, then let the guys enjoy themselves,” he said as Griffin and Paul posed nearby. “They know when the whistle blows, we’ve got to get to work.”
For star players and others, after-hours chores — magazine photo shoots, television interrogations, endorsement meet-and-greets — come with the territory.
“But our guys take care of themselves,” Del Negro said.
Thus, it shouldn’t be an issue, he said, because the team takes proper steps to help them prepare to play.
Help on the boards?
The Clippers are the worst rebounding team in the NBA — averaging 35 a game — but they might get a considerable boost Saturday against Milwaukee.
Reggie Evans could make his Clippers debut, Del Negro said.
The newly acquired rebounding specialist practiced for the first time with the team Thursday after sitting out because of a sprained right foot.
Evans went through a battery of drills and looked sharp, but Del Negro said the Clippers will wait until Saturday to decide whether the backup center-power forward will play.
“I want to see how he reacts tomorrow,” Del Negro said. “If he feels good, we’ll see if we can get him in the lineup.”
In his nine NBA seasons, Evans has averaged 6.9 rebounds and 20 minutes of playing time. He averaged 11.5 rebounds in 30 games with Toronto last season.
Title exodus
The defending champion Dallas Mavericks experienced a free-agent exodus during the off-season, and that included new Clippers forward Caron Butler.
It also included DeShawn Stevenson (now with the New Jersey Nets), Tyson Chandler (New York Knicks) and Jose Barea (Minnesota Timberwolves).
The Mavericks suffered early, starting 1-4, and are now 3-5.
“I think, looking back, everybody made out pretty well,” Butler said. “We’re all smiling, we’ve got a ring and we’re happy.”
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