Hapless Clippers Prove Perfect Cure for Ailing Suns, Lose by 22 Points

At recent Clipper games, General Manager Carl Scheer has chosen to watch the action from a darkened booth in the upper reaches of the Sports Arena. Scheer says he gets a better view of the game from there, and he’s probably right.

The farther you get from the court these days, the better. But the Sports Arena crowd of 5,889 Saturday night would have had to go as far away as El Segundo to avoid the dreadful sight of the Clippers’ latest blowout loss, a 114-92 thrashing by the struggling Phoenix Suns.

Blowout losses have become common for the Clippers recently, this one had to rate as a surprise, even to the Suns.

Phoenix began the night with the NBA’s worst record and, believe it or not, even more problems than the Clippers. Walter Davis, the Suns’ best player, is out indefinitely while undergoing treatment at a Pasadena hospital for substance abuse. Starting forward Alvan Adams also missed the game with a torn calf muscle.

So, you would think the Clippers would be able to win, or at least end their string of 6 blowout losses in thr previous 10 games.

Think again. And make it 7 blowouts in 11 games while you’re at it. The 22-point margin was the Suns’ biggest of the season, and it was only their second road win. Had Sun Coach John MacLeod not pulled his starters after they opened a 97-67 lead with 10:41 left, it might have been the Clippers’ most lopsided loss yet.

Although the point differential wasn’t as big as the 40-point loss to Utah or the 39-pointer to Denver, this one had to rate as the most disheartening because of the quality of competition and the Clippers’ baffling lack of effort.

It would be hard to blame Coach Don Chaney for this one.

“We just have not had any personal pride,” forward Cedric Maxwell said. “When you play in the NBA, if you don’t have any personal pride in your own game, it’ll reflect in the standings. It has to be a 12-man thing.

“One thing I know, it’s not a coaching problem. If anything, it’s an attitude problem among the players. We just aren’t doing it.”

The epitome of the Clippers’ lousy play was their third-quarter performance. They shot 26% from the field, were outrebounded, 17-7, and basically let Phoenix do whatever it pleased.

The Clippers once again winced when they saw the box score afterward. They shot just 36.4%, were outrebounded, 57-34, and committed 19 turnovers.

All that no doubt didn’t please either Scheer upstairs or Chaney on the bench. And at halfcourt, owner Donald T. Sterling huddled with team President Alan Rothenberg and general counsel Arn Tellem, sharing the suffering.

There’s plenty of suffering these days for the Clippers, who fell to 8-17. They have lost 17 of their last 20 games and are quickly heading toward the Pacific Division cellar.

“Once we get down, our guys aren’t confident enough to come back,” Chaney said. “You dig yourself a hole, and everything becomes familiar again. You find yourself in the same position and you feel you can’t come back. Early in the season, we weren’t like that.”

Early in the season, the Clippers had Derek Smith. Chaney thinks that the return of Smith, who is recovering from knee surgery and might play Wednesday night against Golden State, could make a difference.

Scheer said before the game that he won’t make personnel changes until after Smith returns, basically because he wants to see how the team reacts. Scheer also said before the game that he met with Sterling, and no coaching change is imminent. Scheer could not be reached afterward for comment.

Said Smith about his return: “Emotionally, I think I can help carry the guys a long way. Physically, no one guy can do it. This is like a broken record. We’re letting teams that shouldn’t wallop us, wallop us.”

The Suns’ tag team of forward Larry Nance and center James Edwards did much of the walloping. Nance scored 29 points and had 9 rebounds, while Edwards scored 22 points (10 of 14 from the field) and also had 9 rebounds.

Mike Sanders hurt the Clippers off the bench with 17 points, and even seldom-used Bulgarian import Georgi Glouchkov made thebox score with two points.

The Clippers, conversely, received only one point from their bench in the first half and only 14 in the game. As usual, Marques Johnson led the Clippers with 25 points, while Maxwell rebounded from a poor showing Friday night in Seattle to score 21 points and grab 10 rebounds. Norm Nixon added 19 points and 6 assists.

Clipper Notes

Dr. Tony Daly, the Clippers’ physician, said before the game that injured guard Derek Smith (torn cartilage in his left knee) will practice unrestricted Monday and most likely play Wednesday night against Golden State at the Sports Arena . . . A few days ago, Daly had to drain fluid from Smith’s knee but said Smith is fine now. “I had to do that because Derek worked out four times in one day,” Daly said. “That’s overdoing it, but that’s Derek. He’s ready to play again.” . . . Saturday night was Clipper General Manager Carl Scheer’s 49th birthday . . . Because of the absence of Walter Davis (undergoing treatment in a rehabilitation center) and Alvan Adams (torn calf muscle), Phoenix has re-signed forward Charles Pittman, who was waived earlier in the season . . . When Smith returns to the Clippers, expect reserve forward Jay Murphy to be waived.