Goal Is to Avoid Bringing Up Rear

The Clippers are hoping to win half of their remaining 20 games. Not finishing with the league’s worst record is a realistic goal.

“We have to play the games and it would look real good for us to go on a run right now and tie some wins together,” said power forward Maurice Taylor, who did not play against the Hornets because of a stomach virus. “Basically, we don’t have anything to lose. We have to have the mind-set to go out and compete.”

Although the Clippers have lost five in a row, they are not upset with the way they’ve been playing.

“We’re trying to build on things and I think we’ve seen a lot of positives,” said interim Coach Jim Todd, who has cut down on his rotation after trying to play 12 men every game.

“It didn’t seem to be working so I made a change and stopped playing a lot of bodies. I didn’t see the benefit of it.”

Taylor said the team has finally begun to come together, even though the season is three-fourths over.

“It’s funny but we have a little more chemistry right now,” he said. “I think moving Lamar [Odom] to the point, it really helped us out a lot. He knows where we like the ball and that has something to do with it as well.”

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The Clippers have been routed in more than their share of games this season but they also have lost some close ones. Before Friday, they had lost 15 games by eight or fewer points.

“Of course we would like to have a big lead in the fourth quarter of games but I want us to keep our poise down the stretch,” Todd said. “We’re only going to get better playing games like that.”

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Point guard Troy Hudson, who sat out three games because of gastritis, was back in uniform Friday night.