Cassell Says Team Needs ‘Swagger’

Their 14-5 start a distant memory, the Clippers have recently expressed a sense of urgency about their performance the remainder of the season.

Coach Mike Dunleavy last week voiced concerns that players had experienced a mental letdown because of injuries to key players, and point guard Sam Cassell said the Clippers needed to regain their “swagger.” The Clippers haven’t revised their goals, saying they’re still focused on earning a Western Conference postseason berth, and they would have been seeded sixth if the playoffs began Monday. Of course, the regular season doesn’t end until April 19, so the Clippers acknowledged they have work to do.

“We know what we’re looking at,” power forward Elton Brand said. “We wanted to protect our home court as best as possible because we’ve got a lot of tough games ahead on the road.

“We know what type of team we have, and what we’re capable of doing as a group, but we know it’s not going to be easy. We think we’re going to be improved from how we played on the road earlier in the season, and we’re anticipating playing well.

“We know that we have to. We have no choice.”

Cassell also reminds his teammates, often.

“I’ve been in this league a long time, and one thing I know is that you can’t take anyone lightly, and we definitely can’t,” the 12-year veteran said. “We’ve got to come out knowing that teams are tougher at home, so you’ve got to be ready for that, but you also know that anyone is beatable.

“We’ve got a young team that’s learning, but everybody is giving that effort. As long as we play our game, we’ll be OK.”

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Corey Maggette is scheduled to have the cast on his left foot removed Jan. 31 and begin aquatic therapy, a team spokesman said. Maggette, sidelined since Dec. 6, is expected to remain in Los Angeles to undergo rehabilitation while the team is on an 11-day, six-game East Coast trip.

If Maggette does not respond well to a rehabilitation program, he might require surgery to have a screw implanted into his foot. If Maggette fares well, he could be activated after the All-Star break.

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It seems Chris Wilcox plays better when he’s involved early in the offense. Dunleavy has noticed too.

“It seems like when he comes in, he gains a lot of energy when he has good offensive production,” Dunleavy said