Richardson Is Latest Sidelined by Injury

Another day, another Clipper injury.

In an upset, it wasn’t Lamar Odom this time, but Quentin Richardson, who sprained his left foot at practice Friday and was unable to play in Saturday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

“What else is new with us?” asked Coach Alvin Gentry before the game. “Corey [Maggette] and those guys can’t get in foul trouble, they’re going to have a whole lot of minutes to play tonight.”

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Michael Olowokandi, on his turnaround season: “It’s definitely a lot of fun.... With Elton [Brand], it definitely made things a little bit easier. I’ve grown to the point where I think I want the ball in the post all the time, but he is sort of the one they run the ball to the post to, which is fine. It keeps teams busy out there, rather than focusing on one person and I think overall it’s been good for the team.

“Good things just started to happen.... Over the last 20 games, it’s been a lot of fun and I think for me, it’s been very revealing.”

“Coming into the season, I still just wanted to rebound and score.... But it’s a team situation, I can’t be getting angry or getting mad. I think everybody wants to score. Everybody wants the ball in their hands.

“One thing my college coach [at Pacific] always told me, I play better when I’m scoring, when I get the ball in my hands. Which was true. So it was something that I had to get over mentally, being able to go out there, be productive and not score. Not worry about touches and shots.

“But then there were a few games this year when Elton was out, or Memphis [Jan. 28, when he tied his career high with 27 points], when he had a little bit of a slow start, and I was given the opportunity to get the ball in the post and I was able to make things happen.

“Fine, if I have to rebound and block shots, I’ll do that, but I also welcome the opportunity to get the ball in my hands and score from time to time.”

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And Olowokandi, on the Clippers’ youth: “I always take experience over youth, especially with this team.... I mean, We’re playing well, don’t get me wrong, a lot better than last year--but I still think, given the level of talent on this team, we’re still relatively underachieving. And I think that’s the inexperience factor. And I think in time, when we have everything together, we’ll have a great season.”

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Mark Heisler