At the start, Clippers keep options open

The first 48 minutes among the more than 3,900 that compose an NBA season aren’t enough to tell us everything about a team, but it would nice if the Clippers could tell us something -- anything -- about their 2006-07 season.

There are no conclusions to be drawn from their 112-104 opening night loss to the Phoenix Suns. None.

Will they use a big or small lineup to attack their Pacific Division rivals and potential playoff foes? They tried a different one for each half Wednesday.

Will they rely on Shaun Livingston or Sam Cassell at point guard? It was Livingston at the start but Cassell during the make-or-break minutes of the fourth quarter.

Oh, there was one more question, posed by a familiar voice to the citizens of Clipper Country.

“Why did the Clippers go away from Elton Brand?” Bill Walton wondered at the ESPN broadcast table in the game’s final minutes.

No definitive answers to be found anywhere. Even Brand, the franchise player, wasn’t his usual dependable self. As a result, the Clippers never quite found an offensive identity.

“We have to establish one way of playing and stick to it,” Brand said.

Brand had All-Star-like numbers of 28 points and 13 rebounds, but he never got the same rhythm going that he had against the Suns in the playoffs. He went more than six minutes between points in the fourth quarter, not scoring again until a flurry in the game’s final two minutes. No one else provided a consistent scoring threat.

One thing that did carry over from the last postseason: Tim Thomas is killing L.A. teams. This time he was doing the damage from inside, like one of those moles on “24.” In his first game as a Clipper, he shot a self-inflicting two for eight.

How much should we make of an NBA team’s first game? Tuesday night, for example, the Chicago Bulls looked like world champions against the Miami Heat and were handled by the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Apparently, Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy didn’t make too much of the Lakers’ opening-night victory over the Suns, when the Lakers kept force-feeding the ball inside and wound up outscoring Phoenix, 66-34, in the paint.

Dunleavy went with a perimeter-oriented lineup to open the game, starting Livingston, Brand, Cuttino Mobley, Thomas and Quinton Ross while leaving Chris Kaman on the bench.

Of course the other noteworthy aspect of that lineup was the decision to start Livingston over Cassell. That’s a statement move, announcing that Livingston’s time is now. Except “now” had to wait until later when Livingston missed his first six shots.

“Maybe it was just the whole mind-set of starting and expectations,” Livingston said.

The future belongs to Livingston, but he’ll have to play an extra 789 games before he matches Cassell’s experience level. If Livingston paid close attention Wednesday night, he could get a crash course in veteran trickery from Cassell.

When his jumper was as cold as every other Clipper, Cassell used his trusty pump-fake-lean-in to get defenders in the air, draw fouls and get to the line for free throws. On defense he planted himself in Shawn Marion’s path as Marion steamed downcourt and right into Cassell for a charge.

Later, he sneaked inside of Amare Stoudemire to grab a rebound, then dramatically fell to the ground, all but forcing the official to call a foul.

So Cassell found a way to make contributions despite shooting one for six from the field in the half. In turn, the Clippers managed to stay within three points of the Suns despite shooting 36% in the first half. Brand worked the offensive boards and earned 14 points.

Late in the half, Kaman played alongside Brand and the pair combined for three layups enough to convince Dunleavy to “go big” and start Kaman in the second half.

And that’s when the Suns pulled away, stretching their lead to double digits.

Livingston got hot later in the quarter, making four of his six shots -- including a jumper at the buzzer -- as the Clippers pulled back within three.

But when their porous defense couldn’t get stops to start the fourth quarter, it was interesting to see Cassell on the court for a 4 1/2 -minute stretch that would determine whether the final few possessions meant anything.

It will be interesting to see whether Dunleavy’s decision to bring Cassell off the bench affects their relationship, whose harmonious tone was integral to last season’s success. There’s also the ongoing issue of Corey Maggette’s playing time, which was limited by a bout of food poisoning Wednesday.

“I knew I wasn’t going to start,” Cassell said. “I missed damn near the whole training camp [with injuries].

“I’m not coming off the bench the whole year. It’s an adjustment for the night. It was definitely different. You go in the game, you try to get started. I just want to play. Coming off [the bench], certain nights, different matchups, so be it. I’ll come off. No matter what, I’m still going to do what I need to do to make this team successful.”

He did feel comfortable making one statement: “We didn’t deserve to win this game.”

Along with one more: “One down, 81 to go.”

That leaves plenty of time for learning.

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande, go to latimes.com/adandeblog.