Building Character

Dear Clippers,

Welcome to the playoffs.

I know they tore your hearts into little pieces and sprinkled them all over Arizona, but guess what? That’s life in the playoffs.

It has happened to better teams and now that you’re better than you were, it’s happening to you. Becoming good isn’t the same as winning.

It happened to the Lakers in the 1984 Finals when they routed Boston in Games 1 and 3 but lost a 115-113 lead at the end of Game 2, when Gerald Henderson stole James Worthy’s pass, and blew a five-point lead in the last minute of regulation in Game 4.

The Celtics prevailed in Game 7 in Boston Garden. The Lakers stayed over amid the wild celebration, clinging to each other. Magic Johnson’s friends, Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre, stayed up with him. Coach Pat Riley, who sat around with assistant coach Bill Bertka and their wives, called it “the longest night of my life.”

When they got home, Johnson holed up and let the phone ring for days so even his mother couldn’t get through.

“It hurt so bad,” Johnson said, “but when we got out of there, we learned a valuable lesson. Only the strong survive and that’s something we didn’t know until then.

“Talent just don’t get it.... So we said, ‘OK, we got to be stronger.’ ”

A year later, they beat the Celtics in the Finals, won two more titles in 1987 and 1988, and we call the decade Showtime.

The Clippers have never been out of the second round, but the process is the same.

*

Clipper Nation ... on the move!

It’s not just Billy Crystal flying owner Donald T. Sterling to Phoenix on his plane and their new fan, Jack Nicholson, jetting in with director James Brooks.

The Birnbaum brothers of Agoura Hills, Brian, Jared and Shaun, are flying first class on Southwest Airlines in their red Clipper Nation T-shirts.

Actually, Southwest doesn’t have first class or reserved seats, but the Birnbaums are boarding with the A group, which means they can sit together.

It doesn’t get any better in Clipper Nation, home of real fans or, at least, real humble fans. Unfortunately, their heroes have picked a bad night to re-enact their highlights of the ‘80s.

Corey Maggette, who’s starting so Steve Nash has to guard him, decides to post up at the top of the circle and shoot 20-footers.

Chris Kaman acts exasperated at coming out of the game. Coach Mike Dunleavy yells at him, among others.

Phoenix zooms ahead by 19, but the Clippers force overtime with a stirring rally. By then, Tim Thomas, the only Sun playing who’s taller than 6 feet 8, has fouled out.

The Clippers lead by three in the first overtime with three seconds left when Raja Bell’s shot ties it ... after the Clippers, who have a foul to give, don’t give it. Rookie Daniel Ewing decides he can’t take the chance as Bell grabs and shoots over him.

“We’ve got a foul to give,” says the outspoken Sam Cassell. “We’ve got to put Raja Bell in the fifth row with the popcorn man.”

Cassell has his own pratfall at the end of regulation, failing to get the ball over half court in time, walking it up while grinning at Leandro Barbosa like a lion eyeing a lamb chop.

Dunleavy is having an awful series, having been roasted for taking Elton Brand out in Game 1 and Cassell in Game 3 before being served en flambe again for putting a rookie in a clutch situation. Just imagine where the Clippers would be with someone who knows whom to put on the floor.

Dunleavy has done as much as anyone to get them here, but the playoffs are different for him too. The press turns into a huge tabloid, so the losing coach inevitably blows it unless it’s a referee or a league conspiracy.

Actually, coaches do more than substitute and call timeouts (or not, if it’s Phil Jackson) but the real stuff -- schemes, strategies, Xs and O’s -- is subtle. Taking the heat comes with the territory, and for Dunleavy and his players, character rules.

Character is all that’s holding the Suns together in this series. This doesn’t mean they’re better people, but they’re definitely more experienced people.

With James Jones and Eddie House iced over, Coach Mike D’Antoni has gone 905 of 1,010 minutes with six players. However, of their Big Six, or Last Six, five -- Nash, Barbosa, Thomas, Bell and Shawn Marion -- have been in conference finals.

Of the eight Clippers in the rotation, five -- Kaman, Maggette, Brand, Shaun Livingston and Quinton Ross -- are making their postseason debuts.

Marion has a sore ankle and while he says he will play, six still isn’t very many.

“We’re thinking about sending our JV team down to Los Angeles” for tonight’s Game 6, D’Antoni said laughing after Tuesday’s game.

“No, we’re ready to go.... Well, I’m ready to go.”

Nash didn’t make anything longer than a layup in Game 5, is 0 for 13 on three-pointers in the last four games and says even 15-footers look long now. But he still got 17 points and 13 assists.

Nash no longer hides his exhaustion. Asked about the second overtime when everyone seemed to move in slow motion, he said, “I’ve felt like that for about a month now.”

Is it his hips, his back?

“Everything,” Nash said.

His character seems to be in good shape. The Clippers have until 7 p.m. to work on theirs.