Clippers aim to keep their minds on business during first extended trip this season

The Clippers used to ponder the same questions whenever they went on the road.

Would they go to Kd’s or Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse on their off day in Oklahoma City? Would they hit NOLA or Port of Call during their free time in New Orleans?

Coach Doc Rivers would hear his players mull their dinner reservations and shake his head.

“My first year here, going on the road, I thought it was like we were going on a camping trip,” Rivers recalled recently. “That’s how you felt. Everyone was making their plans for restaurants and all this stuff and it was like, this is a work trip. That’s how we had to view it.”

Rivers said the mentality of openly contemplating everything but basketball filtered over to his staff, prompting a meeting. It was time to focus.

The Clippers did that last season, going 26-15 on the road. It was a franchise record for road victories and something to remember as the Clippers embarked Sunday on their first extended trip of the season.

“Our mind-set on the road was great last year, but we have to do that again this year, especially on the long road trips,” forward Blake Griffin said Saturday. “The up-and-backs are easy because you just fly and you play, but on these long road trips where you have a day off and you have a little time, you’ve got to stay focused and make sure we’re treating it as a business trip and not a vacation.”

The five-game, 10-day trip that covers 5,082 miles will start in Minneapolis on Monday against the Timberwolves before making stops in Milwaukee, Chicago, Brooklyn and Detroit. There will be four days without a game, forcing players to be wise about mixing a little pleasure with their business.

“You want to go to dinners and build that bond,” shooting guard Jamal Crawford said, “but not at the price of not getting enough rest.”

Back to form

Crawford wasn’t just missing shots through the season’s first five weeks. He was lacking the proper form on many of them.

Assistant coach Sam Cassell illustrated this by informing Crawford of the glaring discrepancy between his accuracy when shooting off-balance versus exhibiting more sound mechanics. The discussion apparently resonated based on Crawford’s play Saturday during the Clippers’ 103-101 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Crawford made 10 of 19 shots, including six of nine from three-point range, in a performance that may have helped him break out of his season-long slump. Crawford scored 16 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and made more than half his shots for the first time since the season’s second game.

“You could see him make a concerted effort,” Rivers said of Crawford’s willingness to improve his form and execute “the two-foot jump stop, the Jerry West jump shot — I always call it that — instead of floating and flying. He just took a lot of solid shots and I thought that was great for him.”

Crawford said he also stopped overthinking, which had robbed him of his usual fearlessness.

“My teammates and coaches hate when I play with hesitation,” Crawford said, “because that way you’re kind of blocking your own shot.”

NEXT UP

CLIPPERS AT MINNESOTA TIMBEWOLVES

When: Monday, 5 p.m. PST.

Where: Target Center.

On the air: TV: Prime; Radio: 980, 1220.

Records: Clippers 11-9; Timberwolves 8-11.

Record vs. Timberwolves: 1-0.

Update: Clippers Coach Doc Rivers seemed optimistic that J.J. Redick would be able to play against the Timberwolves after missing most of the previous two games with a sprained right ankle. Rivers was less certain about the return of Chris Paul, who has sat out the last 2 1/2 games because of inflamed rib cartilage. The last full game Paul played in was the Clippers’ 107-99 victory over Minnesota on Nov. 29 at Staples Center. The Timberwolves have, oddly, been much worse this season at home, where they are 2-8.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Twitter: @latbbolch