Ellis Finally in Familiar Territory : NBA: Former Mater Dei center is no stranger to playoff teams. But Clippers have a tough first-round opponent.

Like his 11 teammates, Clipper rookie LeRon Ellis is excited that his team has ended its NBA-record streak of 15 consecutive seasons without making the playoffs. But there is one aspect the former Mater Dei High center is upset about.

“I’m just bummed that we might get the seventh spot,” Ellis said after practice at the Sports Arena this week. “I’d rather be eighth and play Portland. I think we’ve got Portland’s number when we go out and play hard.”

The Clippers (45-36) are assured of finishing seventh in the Western Conference and will face the Utah Jazz when the playoffs begin next week.

The Clippers are 2-3 against the Trail Blazers, but 2-1 since Larry Brown was named the team’s coach Feb. 5. Against Utah, they are 1-3, 0-1 with Brown.

Ellis’ first NBA season has been a learning experience. He has played in 29 of the Clippers’ 81 games, averaging 1.5 points in 3.6 minutes.

In some respects, Ellis is a high-paid spectator. Brown has instructed him to watch players whom he might face or those whose games are similar to his.

Being a reserve is a new experience for the 6-foot-10 rookie. Even as a freshman at Kentucky in the 1987-88 season, Ellis started eight games.

Ellis admits his role is frustrating, “but not to the point where I’m letting it affect me too much.

“At midseason or so, I was getting in kind of a negative state, but I was trying not to portray it to anybody else,” Ellis said. “Inside, I was feeling really bad, because I could be playing for a lot of other decent teams, but at some point in time, a lot of people get in these situations.”

Ellis has been used as a reserve center and at both forward spots, and his season has been split into stages.

“The first stage was getting out there and getting excited when I was out there, hurrying through things and trying to do too much,” Ellis said. “At first it was working well. I was getting in, scoring almost every time I was in and making most of my shots.”

Then came a 125-94 victory over the Lakers Feb. 19. Ellis played a season-high 16 minutes, but the rare chance to exhibit his skills during a game backfired.

“I scored (four points) and got some rebounds (three), but didn’t play as well as I thought I could,” Ellis said. “My legs got really tired all of a sudden because they weren’t used to that activity. When that happened, I got sloppy.

“I wasn’t getting the jump on my jump shot; I wasn’t getting off the ground.”

That game started a period during which Ellis felt his play “stagnated.”

“I wasn’t thinking,” Ellis said. “I was just doing and too out of control when I was on the court.”

Ellis, who had tried out in 1987 for a junior national team coached by Brown, said Brown “really got on me for shooting right away.”

“Then I started to calm down a little bit, go out and pass the ball and act like a real player, not like a bench warmer, which is what I had reverted to, someone who shoots the ball as much as he can,” said Ellis.

Now, in a typical two-minute stint, Ellis will refrain from shooting unless it is a layup or dunk.

“It takes me two minutes to warm up,” Ellis said. “You just can’t get off the bench after sitting there the whole game and sprint real hard. (You would) have a good chance of pulling something.”

Ellis was the Clippers first-round draft choice last June, the 22nd selection overall, after a collegiate career split between Kentucky and Syracuse. The pick was booed by the Sports Arena fans, whom Ellis now notes ask him for autographs and shoes.

Because the Clippers were over the salary cap, the team could only pay Ellis $180,000, the NBA minimum. That’s about $300,000 less than a player taken in that spot ordinarily would make. Michael Watkins, Ellis’ agent, had unsuccessfully sought to place Ellis on teams in Spain and Italy.

Ellis’ financial fortunes figure to improve. After this season, he becomes a restricted free agent. With the salary cap rising, he will have a better chance to get an offer than this season’s free-agent class. If Ellis were to sign an offer sheet with another team, the Clippers would retain him if they matched it.

Although Ellis said he is glad to be on the Clippers, he admits his situation is less than ideal.

“To be on a team where there’s no chance of me playing at all and being penalized by the salary cap, is not my first choice of teams to be on, but since I’m here, you have to make the best of your situation,” Ellis said.

“If you can go somewhere else and play, and they can fit you in the organization without me having to be penalized by the salary cap, then that would be my first choice.”

Gary McKnight, Ellis’ coach at Mater Dei, says Ellis might benefit from being on another team next season.

“LeRon has the potential to be a pretty steady player in the NBA,” McKnight said. “I don’t know if maybe he’s better off to go to Europe for a couple of years, gain some experience and then come back. At Syracuse, he didn’t get the opportunity to shoot too much. Maybe playing in Europe, he can develop some more offensive skills and become a better NBA player.”

Ellis’ current coach shares some of McKnight’s views and understands Ellis’ feelings.

“I think he’s going to be a player in this league,” Brown said. “He works hard and is a great athlete with great skills.

“When you’re a first-round choice, people’s expectations are high. It is tough for a player coming out of college now when he sees other young players on expansion teams getting playing time and he’s sitting on the bench.”