Dunleavy Works to Stay Positive

Maintaining confidence is important for the Clippers, who acknowledged they have reason for concern.

They were riding high during a 14-5 start, but injuries and poor play have tempered enthusiasm at Staples Center.

The Clippers (17-12), who defeated Portland on Sunday night, are struggling to regain their earlier form while playing without small forward Corey Maggette and backup center Zeljko Rebraca, who are not expected to return until the end of January, and Quinton Ross, the backup small forward/shooting guard who is sidelined indefinitely.

“You can approach this a couple of different ways,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “You can talk about the reality of it and feel sorry for yourself, or you can explore ways to use it as an opportunity to make yourself better. You can figure out ways to win when you’ve got things going against you.

“Some of it is mental toughness. You have to say, ‘Hey, I have to be more efficient ... I have to be smarter ... I’ve got to play harder.’ Those are the things you’ve got to learn to do when the chips go against you. That’s something we’ve got to get better at. We have to do that.”

With a small margin for error, the Clippers must maximize every opportunity to “steal” games while playing short-handed, Dunleavy said.

“But in order to steal games, you’ve got to be efficient,” he said. “You can’t turn the basketball over, you’ve got to take good shots and your defense has to be very good. You can’t just be OK.

“If you don’t have matchup problems and can play people straight up, it’s great.

“But if you have guys out, and you’re playing short-handed with lack of size, and guys need protection, you’ve got to go do that. But it takes a lot of focus. It’s not easy.”

-- Jason Reid