Clippers Not Sunk but They’re Still Taking on Water

Clipper forward Maurice Taylor had Detroit’s Christian Laettner sealed off for a wide-open two-foot shot early in the second half. But instead of laying the ball into the basket, Taylor missed the easy shot by shooting it too hard off the backboard.

Plays like this were not uncommon for Taylor, who wanted to impress in front of his Motor City family and friends Friday night. Not only did he want the Clippers to end their longest losing streak of the season, he also wanted to play well.

Wishful thinking.

Thanks to the all-around play of Grant Hill, Detroit handed the Clippers their eighth consecutive defeat, 107-83, and Taylor, who had 27 tickets for the game, finished with a forgettable 13 points on six-for-14 shooting in front of 15,249 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Hill finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and Jerry Stackhouse added 23 points for the Pistons, who have not lost to the Clippers at home since March 31, 1992.

“Is this a sinking ship?,” Taylor said of the Clippers, who dropped to 4-15 and have not won in December. “I hope not. I’ve seen it happen around here before. Last year was a case of a sinking ship. Hopefully we have some character.”

If losing does build character, then the Clippers’ fortitude is growing by the second.

Three weeks ago, Clipper rookie Lamar Odom was the talk of the league. But he has struggled over the last couple of games, and against Detroit he finished with only 10 points, four rebounds and no assists.

Odom received another NBA learning lesson with the Pistons’ Hill taking over the role as teacher. With the help of some touch fouls that placed Odom in foul trouble most of the game, Hill was a handful.

He missed 13 of 23 shots but was six for seven from the free-throw line and his rebounding helped Detroit hold a commanding 52-37 edge on the boards.

“I may have a frustrated look on my face but that’s how I get when I’m not performing,” said Odom, who played only 20 minutes because of fouls. “I haven’t performed in three games in a row. I just have to keep coming out and fighting.”

The third quarter was a disaster for the Clippers as the Pistons outscored them, 30-19. The Clippers found themselves down by 21 points midway through the period before Coach Chris Ford sent seldom-used guard Charles Jones into the game.

Ford turned to Jones, who finished with 10 points, because shooting guards Eric Piatkowski and Tyrone Nesby continued to misfire. The Clippers have been lacking a perimeter game for most of the season and Piatkowski and Nesby combined to make three of 13 shots.

“I’ve been waiting for the opportunity and when I get out there I want to do my best,” said Jones, a second-year guard from Long Island, who twice led the NCAA in scoring.

“Even if it’s the last two minutes, I want to go hard because I don’t want to be taken out. I want to be an addition to the team, not a distraction.”

The Clippers tried to make a game of it in the fourth, cutting Detroit’s lead to 13 at one point. But Hill and Jerome Williams, who came off the bench to get 17 points and 12 rebounds, stepped up with key plays down the stretch.

“This was a real good win for us,” Detroit Coach Alvin Gentry said. “It was a scary game coming into because of their personnel . . . the only thing they don’t have on that team right now is veteran-type leadership that can give them a little guidance and direction.”

After the game, Ford looked like a man whose options have run dry. Offensively, the Clippers still can’t shoot, making only 41.5% against Detroit. Defensively, they aren’t much better; the Pistons made 48.8% of their shots.

“Certain individuals go out and make the same mistakes,” Ford said. “It’s judgment. It’s decision-making.

“I don’t think their attention span is that good. They don’t like to hear this but they know every word to every rap song, but . . . when you try to draw up a play or something, they forget in two seconds.”

So where do the Clippers go from here?

“That’s a tough question,” said Ford, whose team will play at Indiana tonight. “We don’t have much time.”