Clippers’ Problems Get Bigger in Texas

A new year brings new resolutions, new resolve, a new start.

So the Clippers enthusiastically bid 2002 goodbye, said farewell to the gut-wrenching losses, the missed shots, the inexcusable turnovers, the lost opportunities.

Hello, 2003.

And -- surprise, surprise -- guess what?

When they took the court Thursday night in American Airlines Center to face the Dallas Mavericks, the new year instantly looked like the old to the Clippers, like 2002, and 2001, and 2000, and all the way back, with a few exceptions, to the days they called San Diego home.

At the outset, Andre Miller made a bad pass, resulting in a turnover, Michael Olowokandi missed a dunk, Olowokandi missed on a jump shot, Elton Brand missed on a jump shot and the Clippers were off and stumbling to a 102-92 defeat in front of a sellout crowd of 19,884.

While Dallas was improving the league’s best record to 26-5 by winning for the eighth time in its last 11 games, the Clippers were sinking deeper into the Pacific Division cellar, their record dropping to 12-20 with their fourth loss in a row and eighth in 11 games.

There may be much conjecture about what’s wrong with the Lakers, but there is no puzzlement over the Clippers. They simply can’t shoot.

They scored a season-low 12 points in the first quarter on 30% shooting from the field and had a season-low 31 points at the half on 29.7% shooting.

“We are just running into the same old problem,” said Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry. “We just aren’t making any shots. We’ve been shooting in the 30s the last few games and it’s virtually impossible to win in the NBA when you are shooting in the mid-thirties for the game. You can have bad moments. But you can’t have that for the game.”

The Clippers can. They shot 37.3%.

Olowokandi, building on the momentum of his early misses, finished one for 10 from the field and had three points. Brand was five for 12 and had 13 points. So the Clippers’ two big men combined to shoot six for 22.

But it wouldn’t be fair just to blame them. This is a team effort. The Mavericks, like other teams before them, take a look at their dismal shooting and proceed to double- and triple-team Olowokandi and Brand, daring the Clippers to beat them from the outside.

Which, of course, they can’t do.

“It sounds like a broken record for the last couple of weeks,” Gentry said, “but that is where we are. We are not making perimeter shots, which would open up the game for Michael or Elton.”

No argument from Olowokandi.

“We are just not capable of making shots right now,” Olowokandi said, “and we know that, so instead, our guys are driving the ball into the teeth of the defense. Maybe for the rest of the season, we should just stand around in practice and shoot threes. Any team playing us should just double team us in the post. It’s easy ... easy.”

It didn’t help that the Clippers were missing their best outside shooter, Eric Piatkowski, who is on the injured list because of a lower abdominal strain. Last season, Piatkowski scored his career high against the Mavericks, getting 36 points on 11-for-16 shooting.

In his stead, Quentin Richardson fired away Thursday, but with dismal results. He was only three for 16 from the field, including three of 12 from behind the three-point arc. The dozen attempts tied his own club, single-game record, which he shares with Ron Harper.

“Nobody’s trying to miss,” Richardson said. “I have never missed that many ... shots.”

The Clippers made one belated run in the fourth quarter, going on a 15-2 charge which cut a 21-point deficit to eight. But then the Mavericks, led by Steve Nash (24 points), and Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley (20 each) pulled away.

Oh well, for the Clippers, there’s always 2004.