Olowokandi’s Work Paying Off

Day after day, center Michael Olowokandi has worked on his moves with assistant coach Igor Kokoskov monitoring every pump fake, jump shot and hook shot.

If the last five games are any indication, the extra tutoring has paid off. He had 27 points and 15 rebounds in the Clippers’ 104-91 loss Sunday to the Boston Celtics for his third consecutive double-double. He has averaged 19.6 points and 10.6 rebounds in the first five games on the Clippers’ seven-game trip.

“The guy has been playing great for us,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “If you go back and look at his past 15 or 16 games, you know he’s had impressive stats.”

With Elton Brand sidelined by a bruised left hip, Olowokandi became the Clippers’ go-to guy. They dropped the ball into Olowokandi on the low block and he made the Celtics pay with a variety of hook shots and jumpers.

Olowokandi’s best move was a drive along the right baseline, rocketing past a helpless Vitaly Potapenko to deliver a thunderous dunk in the first half. Olowokandi led the Clippers with 17 points in the first half, making eight of 10 shots and one free throw.

“I came out with a lot of energy and I got the ball early in the [first] quarter and I just tried to sustain it as much as I could,” said Olowokandi, who averages 8.3 points and 8.6 rebounds.

The only fault Gentry could find with Olowokandi’s play Sunday was that he didn’t get the ball enough.

“We’ve got to do a better job of getting him the ball when he’s going like that,” Gentry said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re fronting him or not. I thought he was doing pretty well.”

Gentry says Olowokandi is feeding off his newfound confidence.

“Igor has been working with him on his footwork,” Gentry said. “He’s very confident and not rushing things. When you start playing with confidence, then you feel confident every time out there.”

Point guard Keyon Dooling continues to make progress after suffering a badly sprained left ankle that has sidelined him since Nov. 14. The next step is a full-speed practice.

“We need to keep pressing him a little more,” Gentry said. “His ankle has healed. There’s nothing else that can happen to it now.”

Elliott Teaford