Olowokandi Progresses

Coach Alvin Gentry continues to answer questions about center Michael Olowokandi. So far, Gentry doesn’t seem to mind responding to the notion that Olowokandi doesn’t do as much for the Clippers as one might expect from a No. 1 draft pick.

“When he’s been out there, he’s given us what we’ve wanted,” Gentry said. “He’s blocking shots. He’s rebounding well.”

Olowokandi simply doesn’t average 20 points the way many other top draft picks do, which invites repeated questions about his play.

“We need to keep him on the floor a little bit more,” Gentry said, referring to Olowokandi’s frequent foul trouble.

During the first half of the Clippers’ 111-102 victory Saturday over the Phoenix Suns, Olowokandi made five of five shots, took two rebounds and blocked two shots in what was easily his best 17 minutes of the season. He also did not commit any fouls, which meant he was more available to Gentry in the second half.

“We know what we expect of him,” Gentry said of Olowokandi, averaging 5.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 25 minutes. “As long as he keeps playing the way he’s been playing, he can really help our team.”

Olowokandi turned down the Clippers’ offer of a contract extension before the season began, hoping a strong 2001-02 will bring about a bigger payday during the next off-season.

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So far, there’s been little question that the Clippers are a different team at Staples Center than they are on the road. The Clippers are 3-1 at home and 0-3 on the road.

“We know it’s important to play well in our building because it’s so difficult to win on the road,” Gentry said after the victory over the Suns gave the Clippers a 16-4 record in their last 20 games at Staples dating to last season.

Last season, only 10 of 29 teams in the NBA had winning records on the road. The Clippers were not one of them, coming in at 9-32. So it’s understandable why Gentry would continue to talk about playing well at Staples.

“If we continue to play like this at home,” he said after the Clippers’ victory over Phoenix, “and then when we get Lamar [Odom] back, it’ll be a huge, huge boost.”

Odom, serving his second NBA drug suspension in eight months, is eligible to play next Sunday against the New York Knicks. Gentry expects Odom, who has been nursing a bruised left foot, to attend practice today.

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The Clippers did not practice Sunday. Their next game is Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls at Staples. A three-day break between games is the Clippers’ longest until just before Christmas.