Team struggles to try to right all the wrongs

The Clippers have lost five in a row, including Wednesday’s 98-96 loss to the injury-weakened Toronto Raptors at Staples Center.

And now things could get more difficult for the Pacific Division’s last-place team on a three-game trip against the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.

The Clippers -- 1-8 as a visiting team -- face three of the Western Conference’s top teams as they struggle to rediscover the formula that led to the franchise’s best season since it moved to California.

After playing the Mavericks here tonight, the Clippers face Houston on Saturday and return to Los Angeles after the game. They are scheduled to travel to Utah on Monday for Tuesday’s game.

“There’s a fine line between winning and losing, and our guys don’t really seem to understand that right now,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “The guys are all telling me they feel like the effort is there, that they’re playing hard, but maybe it’s a case where the mind is willing but not the body.”

Dunleavy and his staff are searching for answers in hopes of salvaging the season, but the team seems to be regressing with each uninspired performance, say Western Conference scouts who follow the Clippers.

The Clippers have been ineffective on offense, taking too much time to run their half-court plays, the scouts said. The Clippers are often shooting with the 24-second clock about to expire, contributing to their poor rhythm on offense.

Because of the Clippers’ almost nonexistent long-range shooting (they’re last in the NBA on three-pointers at 29.7%), opponents double-team Elton Brand and focus on playing defense closer to the basket.

The Clippers’ inability to spread their offense is among the reasons Brand’s scoring average has dropped to 19 points from a personal-best 24.7 points last season. A decrease of 5.7 points from the team’s No. 1 option on offense is a major problem for the Clippers, whose overall scoring has dropped from 97.2 points in the 2005-06 season to 95.8 points this season.

For all their problems on offense, however, the Clippers have been worse on defense. In the first four games of the losing streak, each opponent shot at least 51.3% from the field.

On Thursday, the Raptors, playing their third game in four nights without injured leading scorer Chris Bosh, scored 58 points in the first half, including 33 in the second quarter. Toronto made eight of 17 shots from beyond the three-point arc.

The Clippers increased their efforts on defense in the fourth quarter, limiting the Raptors to 14 points, but T.J. Ford made a jump shot just before the final buzzer for the victory. Again, the Clippers gave up many uncontested long shots while making many mistakes in their defensive rotations, the scouts said.

“We’re just not really quick to situations” on defense, Dunleavy said. “There’s definitely something missing. We’ve got to get back to basics and get it fixed.”

TONIGHT

at Dallas, 5:30 PST,

FSN Prime Ticket

Site -- American Airlines Center.

Radio -- 830.

Records -- Clippers 10-14, Mavericks 19-7.

Record vs. Mavericks -- 1-0.

Update -- Sam Cassell, who recently received a cortisone shot to help him cope with the pain of his heel injury, scored 17 points in 29 minutes against Toronto. The Clippers hope Cassell is available for as many minutes tonight. The Clippers defeated the Mavericks, 103-85, on Nov. 8 at Staples Center. Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki suffered an ankle sprain in Wednesday’s victory over Seattle and is listed as day to day.

jason.reid@latimes.com