Jaric Still Looks for Consistency

Sunday started badly and ended worse for Marko Jaric.

The Clipper point guard awoke to a newspaper ad for the club in which his name was misspelled and in the evening misread the defense on the team’s last two possessions in a 108-107 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

In between, however, he might have played his best game of the season, scoring a season-high 23 points and matching a season high with eight assists. He made eight of 13 shots, three of four from beyond the three-point arc, and scored the last five points in regulation to send the game into overtime.

“He played a great game,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said Monday. “Offensively, he made some big plays down the stretch for us, made some big shots.

“But that’s the last piece to his game that needs to be worked on, the decision-making at the point guard position. He’s good enough to be safe, kind of play by the numbers, move the ball. Defensively, he’s very active, does a lot of good things. He can shoot the ball and [at 6 feet 7] he’s got some size. But the recognition at times -- what’s open, making the right read -- is something he’s got to continue to work on. We’ve got to work on it with him, try to make him better.”

Jaric, 25, is aiming for consistency.

“I had some good games, some really bad games,” said Jaric, who has averaged 8.2 points and 4.2 assists in 27 1/2 minutes. “Playing point guard, you have a lot of pressures and responsibilities to run the team and make everybody else play good....It’s just a matter of time and confidence.”

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With Quentin Richardson and Doug Overton sidelined because of injuries and Glen Rice absent for personal reasons, the Clippers already were working with a skeleton crew Monday when Chris Kaman became ill and left practice early. Richardson is doubtful and Overton questionable for tonight’s game, Richardson because of a sprained right hand and Overton because of a sprained left foot.