Lull in shooting, steals comes along with injuries

Who flipped off the octane?

After sprinting out of the gate and averaging 117.5 points in the first two games, the Clippers topped the century mark only twice in the next seven.

They entered Wednesday’s game averaging 96.9 points, 20th in the NBA. More glaring is the team’s 42.2% field-goal shooting percentage, better than only the Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets.

The drop after the first two games could originally be attributed to the contrasting style in play of their subsequent opponents.

It also helped that the Golden State Warriors and Seattle SuperSonics -- the Clippers’ first two opponents -- are leading the league in points allowed.

Coach Mike Dunleavy likens his team, when healthy, to an amoeba, capable of playing small or big and slow or fast.

But as injuries mount and reserves become starters, the team also isn’t shooting the ball well.

“I just don’t think we have been very efficient,” Dunleavy said. “We haven’t shot the ball great, but certain guys get a shot to play. We get a chance to see what they can do and if they can pick it up.”

The number of steals and ball movement that propelled the team to the early four-game winning streak is also slowing.

The Clippers averaged 24.5 assists and 8.5 steals the first four games and 19.2 and 3.2 in the next five.

Still, the team is optimistic things will get better after they weather the current rash of injuries.

“I like our team,” Sam Cassell said. “We are going to keep searching to find a way.”

The Clippers are losing out on the injury fray on all sides.

They are getting hit with them and their opponents are healthy when playing the Clippers. But when their opponents play the Clippers’ Western Conference rivals, they end up injured.

Case in point: the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit gave the Clippers a healthy trouncing in Michigan. They then headed west for a road trip and lost three out of five games, playing without two starters much of the stretch.

“We’ve been getting caught at both edges where teams have been healthy for us and we’ve been unhealthy for them,” Dunleavy said. “And our opponents -- our rivals -- are catching teams as they are unhealthy.”It’s luck of the draw in that case. There is nothing you can do about it. You’ve got to play.”

--

jonathan.abrams@latimes.com