Inside Problems Could Get Worse

Their losing streak at six games, with Tim Duncan and the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs due back in Staples Center tonight, the Clippers practiced Sunday without their top two power forwards.

Elton Brand will remain sidelined at least into next week because of a broken right foot, and Chris Wilcox will sit out tonight because of a strained left groin.

That leaves Coach Mike Dunleavy’s third choice -- Melvin Ely, Predrag Drobnjak or rookie Chris Kaman -- assigned to Duncan, a two-time most valuable player.

“It’s not going to be easy, obviously,” Dunleavy said of tonight’s game. “None of it’s going to be easy. It hasn’t been easy for the last six games, so it’s not going to be any easier with San Antonio coming in.”

Dunleavy blistered the Clippers after Saturday night’s 98-86 loss to the Denver Nuggets, saying it was time for a “gut check.” He was easier on them Sunday, if only to show them he hadn’t given up on them.

“I was pretty hard on them last night; I was really disappointed in the game,” he said. “But I tried to explain to them -- they have to understand -- I hope they take losses as hard as I take them. ...

“It has to hurt. If you walked out of that [locker] room last night after that game and you weren’t thinking, ‘Wow, this is really hard to swallow, it’s hard to take,’ and if you didn’t go home and think about it most of the night, I really don’t want you.

“I don’t know how I could tell if that was really the case, but if I was able to find that out, if I knew that, I wouldn’t want you on my team.”

In a winless streak that dates to Nov. 18, the Clippers have lost by an average of 11 points. With Brand’s absence leaving them virtually no post game, they’ve made 36.4% of their shots.

“That’s part of it,” Dunleavy said of the missing inside game, “but we haven’t even made the good looks. We haven’t made open shots. I understand that part of it is the pressure of the losses mounting, or you’re playing for a position.”