Dunleavy reserves judgment, saying he hasn’t seen enough

It figured Coach Mike Dunleavy would be uneasy with the exhibition schedule almost completed and the Clippers still getting reacquainted.

The projected starting lineup has played together in only one of seven exhibition games to this point because point guard Sam Cassell has had a strained left calf and center Chris Kaman has had a strained left hamstring.

Cassell returned to the lineup Wednesday night and scored 15 points in a 97-89 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center.

The bench rotation is another concern for Dunleavy. Forwards Tim Thomas and Aaron Williams are new to the team and also have been slowed because of injuries, and Thomas has missed practices to undergo gum surgery twice this month.

The Clippers have one exhibition game remaining, against Denver on Friday at Staples Center.

“Coach Dunleavy is all about attention to detail and doing the little things that make the difference in winning and losing, and we definitely still have some things to work on,” All-Star power forward Elton Brand said. “We’ve got to run coaches’ sets better, we’ve got to make our rotations better on defense and we’ve got to just make better decisions.

“It should come once all the guys have a chance to play together more, so I’m not worried. We’ve just had a lot of guys out.”

If Kaman’s injury lingers into the season, Brand might play center in a reconfigured starting lineup.

Fortunately for the Clippers, they face the up-tempo Phoenix Suns in two of their first three games, and Dunleavy has had success using smaller lineups against the Suns.

The Clippers could be among the Western Conference’s top teams, scouts said, but Dunleavy hasn’t seen enough to make an assessment.

“Without having seen all of our players playing together ... I just don’t know,” said Dunleavy, beginning his fourth season with the Clippers. “I haven’t had the opportunity to see our top eight, nine, 10 guys” in games for long stretches.

“We jump out of the box with Phoenix twice, Denver and Dallas in our first five games, so you better be ready to play, and we haven’t created the feel of a rotation to give me the confidence that they’re a smooth-working group.

“I’ve seen some good plays out of some guys, and in my mind I see that this seemingly fits well, but I just don’t know yet.”

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Barring injury, the Clippers are expected to carry only the 14 players with guaranteed contracts on the regular-season roster, which must be submitted to the league office today.

Forwards Lamond Murray, Jawad Williams, Ryan Humphrey and guard Dawan Robinson do not have guarantees.

jason.reid@latimes.com