Dunleavy Changes Approach

With the Clippers closer to 12th place than to eighth place in the Western Conference standings, Coach Mike Dunleavy acknowledged Sunday that their playoff hopes had faded and that they should focus on a more immediate goal.

“Like I said to our guys, ‘The playoffs, to me, are a longshot until we do something about our play,’ ” said Dunleavy, who couldn’t hide his disappointment in Saturday night’s 105-89 loss to the Denver Nuggets. “And what we have to do is be better as far as trusting each other and how we play.

“We hit a vicious cycle at times where we’ve got guys in the low post that are open that aren’t getting the ball, and then we get guys in the low post that are getting the ball, getting double-teamed and not moving the ball out fast enough ... because they think they don’t get it enough, so they’re not going to throw it back out when they do. Sometimes I reference that as selfish play.

“Sometimes really all it is at times is a guy not trusting the other guy and saying, ‘I’ve got to get it done [because] the other guy’s not getting it done.’ ”

The Clippers, three games ahead of the 12th-place Portland Trail Blazers, trail the Lakers by 4 1/2 games, the Denver Nuggets by four and the Minnesota Timberwolves by 3 1/2 in the race for the final playoff position in the West.

“The shorter-term goal is playing every game to win it,” Dunleavy said, “and improving and hoping that as we do that, as a byproduct of our good play, all of a sudden we wake up and say, ‘Hey, look, we’re in the playoffs.’ ”

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Shaun Livingston, undecided about season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, continues to work out in hopes of returning to the lineup this month. “It’s a matter of just hoping to get it stronger and healed up a little better,” Dunleavy said. “We’d love to get him back on the court just to get experience.” ... Zeljko Rebraca was listed as questionable for tonight’s game because of a strained right hip flexor.

TONIGHT

vs. Memphis, 7:30, FSN West 2

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 1150.

Records -- Clippers 26-33, Grizzlies 33-25.

Record vs. Grizzlies -- 1-2.

Update -- The Clippers are 3-10 since Feb. 3, when they erased an 18-point third-quarter deficit at Memphis, Tenn., and upset the injury-depleted Grizzlies, 106-103.

Tickets -- (800) 462-2849.