Hamilton Working Behind the Scenes

Power forward Zendon Hamilton has played only four minutes in one game for the Clippers this season but that doesn’t mean the former St. John’s standout hasn’t been productive.

Heading into Sunday night’s game against Utah, Hamilton had spent 66 games on the injured list and he’s made the most of his time by working with assistant coach Igor Kokoskov on his game and with strength and conditioning coach Johnny Doyle on his overall strength.

Hamilton has gone from his training-camp playing weight of 225 pounds to 250 and his skills around the post have improved drastically.

“It’s been a real learning process for me,” said Hamilton, who signed with the Clippers as a free agent last summer after spending a season in Greece playing with A.O. Dafni.

“Being here with vets like Derek Strong and Sean Rooks, I couldn’t do anything else but learn. Even though I haven’t been playing, I get a chance to see the greatest players in the world work every night, especially at my position like [Portland’s] Rasheed [Wallace] and [Minnesota’s] Kevin Garnett.”

Doyle said he never has to worry about Hamilton putting in work to get better.

“He has a great attitude,” Doyle said. “You tell him to come early, he comes early and works. . . . He could have easily been down about all of this at this stage of the season, but he’s not. He’s been positive the whole time. He’s a good guy to work with.”

Hamilton impressed the Clippers with his attitude during the preseason. And, he’s hoping to get more of a chance during the off-season.

“Working hard is something I’ve done my whole career, it’s what got me here,” said Hamilton, who has been on the injured list because of an early-season back injury. “Hard work is the only way I know how to succeed.”

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Rookie Quentin Richardson sat out his second consecutive game because of a viral infection. . . . The Clippers’ sellout crowd against the Jazz was their seventh this season and 11th since moving to Staples Center last season. The Clippers’ single-season record for sellouts is nine, established in 1991-92.