Shooting Incident Affects Players

The bail violator who barricaded himself in a Marina del Rey apartment Monday afternoon made things extremely interesting for the New Jersey Nets and some Clipper players.

The Nets had to wait nearly four hours before they could return to their team hotel and several Clippers who live in the Marina del Rey area were stranded when police shut down local streets after a U.S. Marshal and a LAPD officer were wounded by gunfire.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it because they wouldn’t let anyone out the building,” Clipper shooting guard Tyrone Nesby said. “I couldn’t go anywhere. I was stuck until a security guard helped me get out.”

The Nets attended a morning shoot-around at Staples Center and did not get back to their Marina del Rey hotel until after 3 p.m. New Jersey made it back in time for Monday’s night’s game.

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The Clippers entered Monday night’s game as the fourth-best rebounding team in the league, which is not a surprise to Coach Alvin Gentry.

“I thought we should be a good rebounding team in general and that’s an area we have done well in,” said Gentry about the Clippers, who have been pulling down 44.36 rebounds per game.

Lamar Odom’s 8.3 rebounds leads the team but the Clippers have been getting contributions from plenty of others. Center Michael Olowokandi is averaging 5.5 rebounds and backup power forward Derek Strong is averaging 5.4.

“We still have a tendency to give up big offensive rebounds at crucial times,” Gentry said. “But overall we have done a pretty good job rebounding the basketball.”

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The Clippers will hold their “Teamwork at the Table” today at the Bread & Roses Cafe in Venice, where players and coaches will serve Thanksgiving meals to children and their families at 11:30 a.m. Afterward, the Clippers will distribute Thanksgiving food baskets and clothing at St. Joseph’s Center in Venice at 12:45 p.m.