Playoff Hopes Slim Despite ‘Good’ Trip

Upon returning home early Thursday from an eight-game trip, the club’s longest in 14 years, the Clippers scattered for All-Star weekend.

They’ll reconvene Monday for a practice at L.A. Southwest College, then head back out Tuesday for a Wednesday night game at Portland. A Thursday game at Staples Center will be followed by three more road games, the schedule threatening to end their playoff hopes before March 1.

They’re 22-29 overall, 7-18 on the road, after losing the last four games of a trip that had started promisingly, with three victories in four games.

“The trip overall was a good trip,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said after Wednesday’s 110-102 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, in which the Clippers played without injured starters Corey Maggette and Quentin Richardson. “Anybody in the world would say 4-4 would be a great trip -- to go .500 on an eight-game trip, 14 days on the road.

“When we left, I was thinking we needed to get three [victories] to kind of keep us moving forward. Anything less than three, I thought, would be unsuccessful. Anything more than three goes from great to incredible, so here we are.”

They’ve won four more games than they had through this point last season, but they’ve slipped to 13th place in the Western Conference, seven games out of the eighth and final playoff position. Barring an unexpectedly strong stretch run, they’ll probably wind up in the draft lottery -- for the eighth consecutive year.

“We’ve got a young group,” Dunleavy said. “The reality of it is, we lost three starters from last season, and four of our top eight. They won 27 games last season; we’re playing better than they were playing. That’s one positive.

“Our guys are getting better.”

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Calling their injuries minor, Dunleavy indicated that Maggette and Richardson probably would return to the lineup next week. Both were injured Tuesday night at Minnesota, Maggette suffering a bruised hip in a hard fall to the floor and Richardson a bruised thigh in a collision with Latrell Sprewell of the Timberwolves.... Bobby Simmons, sidelined since Jan. 16 because of a sprained hip, also is expected to resume practicing next week, after which he will be reevaluated. Surgery, which would end his season, is still a possibility.... Said 6-foot-1 guard Eddie House, who nearly registered a triple-double Wednesday night with 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists: “We lost, so it doesn’t mean nothing. It’s just a stat.” ... The Clippers, 14-16 after a Jan. 4 victory over the Lakers, have lost 13 of 21 since.